Elimination of Rent Control in the Swedish Rental Housing Market: Why and How?

If housing market rent control is completely eliminated, welfare gains may arise from tenant redistribution. The amount of such welfare gains is estimated at approximately SEK 20 billion (approximately USD 3 billion) for inner Stockholm. In addition, welfare gains may arise from the production of new housing. We demonstrate that total deregulation is preferable to partial deregulation limited to new housing. Furthermore, inefficient overproduction of new housing would follow partial deregulation. Tenants facing rent increases if rent control were phased out would suffer welfare losses, and should be compensated to fulfill the Pareto criterion. Various compensation models could be used, as analyzed here. The amounts necessary to fully compensate tenants in attractive submarkets may be substantial. The Pareto criterion is not necessarily a desirable guideline for politicians if it implies huge wealth redistribution; it is still, however, a natural criterion in connection to all welfare economic analysis.