Published June 14, 2025
Rent Control Cities: Where It Exists and How It Works
Rent control remains one of the most debated housing policies in America. Only a handful of states permit local rent control ordinances, but the cities that have them, including New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, contain millions of renters. Here is where rent control exists, how it works, and what HUD Fair Market Rent data reveals about its effects.
Where Rent Control Exists
Rent control and rent stabilization policies currently exist in parts of California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington DC, and Oregon. Oregon became the first state to enact statewide rent increase caps in 2019, limiting annual increases to 7% plus inflation for buildings older than 15 years.
In California, the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482) caps annual rent increases at 5% plus local CPI for most units over 15 years old. Individual cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Jose have additional local ordinances that are often stricter than the state law.
New York has the oldest and most complex rent regulation system in the country. Approximately one million apartments in New York City are rent stabilized, with annual increases set by the Rent Guidelines Board. A smaller number of pre-1947 units remain under the stricter rent control system.
How Rent Control Interacts with FMR
Fair Market Rent reflects the broader market, including both controlled and uncontrolled units. In heavily regulated markets like New York City, FMR captures the average of stabilized rents (which are below market) and market-rate rents (which are often well above FMR). This means that FMR in regulated markets may understate what a renter looking for a market-rate unit will actually pay.
Compare FMR across regulated and unregulated markets using our county comparison tool. You may notice that some rent-controlled markets have lower FMR than expected, which reflects the presence of below-market regulated units in the data.
The Economics of Rent Control
The economic research on rent control is extensive. Studies from the Urban Institute and leading economics journals consistently find that rent control benefits existing tenants in controlled units but has broader market effects. Controlled tenants pay below-market rents and enjoy housing stability. However, landlords of controlled properties have less incentive to maintain units, and developers have less incentive to build new rental housing.
A landmark 2019 Stanford study of San Francisco's rent control found that while controlled tenants saved an average of $2,300 per year, landlords responded by converting rental units to condos and other uses, reducing the overall rental supply by 15%. This supply reduction increased market-rate rents for everyone else.
States That Prohibit Rent Control
More than 30 states have preemption laws that prohibit local governments from enacting rent control. These include Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and most of the Midwest and South. In these states, landlords can raise rents by any amount at the end of a lease term, subject only to market conditions and notice requirements.
For renters in states without rent control, the only price protection is a fixed-term lease. Once the lease expires, the landlord can propose any new rent amount, subject only to market conditions and any applicable notice requirements.
Alternatives to Rent Control
Housing policy experts have proposed alternatives to traditional rent control, including increased housing supply through zoning reform, expanded housing voucher programs, community land trusts, and social housing models used in Europe. The most effective approaches tend to combine supply-side solutions (building more housing) with demand-side subsidies (helping low-income renters afford existing housing).
Learn about available rental assistance in our guide to Section 8 vouchers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rent control or rent stabilization exists primarily in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Oakland, San Jose, and several other California cities. Oregon has statewide rent increase caps, and a handful of other states allow local jurisdictions to enact rent regulations.
Rent control keeps rents below market for existing tenants in controlled units. However, economists broadly agree that rent control reduces the overall housing supply by discouraging new construction and maintenance, which can increase market-rate rents for non-controlled units. The net effect on market-wide affordability is debated.
Rent control typically freezes rents at a specific level or allows only minimal increases, while rent stabilization allows annual increases tied to an index like CPI. Rent stabilization is more common in practice. See our detailed article on rent stabilization for more.