Rent Controls, Decontrols, and Mitigating Displacement in NYC

Abstract

This paper aims to collect data via literature review on rent control and its implications especially as it relates to NYC. We look at some of the problems with rent controls such as difficulty in effective implementation and tenuous implications on surrounding markets. The next part of this paper looks at the effects of decontrol using Cambridge, MA in 1995 as a case study and examines effects of expanding rent control on the uncontrolled sector through Diamond et al’s 2018 lens in San Francisco. Tentatively, this paper finds that the shock of sudden decontrol results in a spike in homelessness and looks at methods of mitigating this displacement. We conclude by saying decontrol must be practiced with caution and should be done over time. An area of development would be to develop a formula for estimating displacement and the woes of the individual with regard to rent hikes and especially deregulation of rent control.