Thirty Years of Rent Control: A Survey of New Jersey Cities

:This study reexamines the conventional claims made by economists and policy analysts concerning modern rent control. We look at 76 New Jersey rent-controlled cities over a 30-year period and pose questions about the impact of rent control on rents, number of rooms, quality of units, and new rental construction using the latest Census data on cities for 2000. Our study is a comprehensive empirical study of rent control using multiple regression as the primary form of analysis. We find the intended impacts of New Jersey rent control over a 30-year period seem minimal when you compare cities with and without regulations. Housing activists and policymakers need to look at new kinds of approaches to address rental affordability problems.