“Some rent control ordinances permit a landlord to evict a tenant in order to rehabilitate a unit. [....] Such evictions are usually conditioned on the landlord's obtaining all necessary permits before the eviction. Some ordinances require that the tenant be given (1) the right to occupy any vacant unit that the same landlord owns within the city, (2) the right to reoccupy the vacated unit on the completion of the rehabilitation work, or (3) a payment to defray the costs of relocation. [....] A landlord who refuses to allow the tenant to reoccupy the vacated unit is subject to liability under the governing ordinance.” CaliforniaRehabilitationEviction2015RemodelingRent ControlTenancy Author:Myron Moskovitz
“Sellers in general maintain the quality of their products and services for fear of losing customers otherwise. But, when price controls create a situation where the amount demanded is greater than the amount supplied - a shortage - fear of losing customers is no longer as strong an incentive. For example, landlords typically reduce painting and repairs when there is rent control, because there is no need to fear vacancies when there are more tenants looking for apartments than there are apartments available.” NeedsStrongQualitySituationGreaterExamplePaintingProductsAmountLosingAvailableCustomersApartmentIncentivesShortageSellersLandlordTenantsVacancyRent Control Author:Thomas Sowell
“Rent Control was an interesting movie. It was directed by... I had done a couple of plays off Broadway, and this Italian director came, his name was Gian Luigi Polidoro, and he determined I was the person to play the lead in his low-budget comedy. He'd won an award at the Venice Film Festival, and... He was, y'know, a skilled director.” KnowsPersonsDonePlayFilmNamesInterestingComedyCoupleDirectorsLowsDeterminedBudgetsAwardsItalianBroadwayFestivalsVeniceLead InFilm FestivalsRent Control Author:Brent Spiner
“Gian Luigi Polidoro and his girlfriend had written this script, it was an American comedy, and they decided I was the guy to play the part. I was young, they offered me the lead in the film, and I said, "Sure, I'll do it." And I'm telling you, there is a movie waiting to be made about the making of a movie like that, particularly at that time in New York. I mean, we shot all over the streets of New York without permits. We would literally grab a shot and run. But Rent Control... I think the total cost was $100,000, and to this director's credit, I think it looks like $200,000.” ThinkingLooksMeanMadeSaidPlayRunningFilmYoungGuyWaitingComedyWrittenStreetsNew YorkCostDirectorsShotsDecidedScriptsCreditGirlfriendPermitLead InRent Control Author:Brent Spiner
“Rent Control is not a terrible movie, certainly not for the budget they had. And, again, it's such an '80s kind of thing.” KindTerribleBudgets80sRent Control Author:Brent Spiner
“It just occurred to me that there are some beautiful shots [in Rent Control] with the World Trade Center in the background.” WorldBeautifulShotsTradeBackgroundsWorld TradeWorld Trade CenterRent Control Author:Brent Spiner
“I can tell you one other story about Rent Control. The lead actress in the film, her name was Elizabeth Stack, and it turned out she was Robert Stack's daughter. The only problem with that - and she was lovely - was that she was basically hired because [Gian Luigi Polidoro] thought she was [film producer] Ray Stark's daughter. And he figured that if he ran out of money, her father would kick in some more. I can still remember the day he freaked out when he realized she was actually Robert Stack's daughter. He was just screaming "Untouchables!" over and over.” IfsStillsI CanStoriesProblemRememberFilmFatherNamesDaughterActressesLovelyProducersRanKicksRaysStarksUntouchablesRent Control Author:Brent Spiner
“Rent control is one policy that economists universally would oppose. It is a grossly inefficient way of allocating housing space and, of course, it inhibits construction and creates the very thing it is supposed to alleviate. It is one of those things where people simply don't understand simple economics and, therefore, put in for political reasons what will damage the very people that it is designed to help. Minimum wage levels are another classic example.” PeopleWayReasonHelpingPoliticalCoursesSimpleSpaceLevelsPolicyExampleEconomicsClassicDamageConstructionMinimumEconomistHousingMinimum WageAlleviateRent Control Author:James M. Buchanan
“Politically, sometimes you get situations where rent control will go through. It is especially true in an emergency, where there is a sudden, sharp increase in demand for housing or a cut back in supply. People will simply not allow the marketplace to allocate housing resources and so you get pressures for rent control. Once you have it, it is hard to eliminate.” PeopleSometimesHardSituationCuttingDemandResourcesIncreasePressureEmergenciesHousingMarketplaceRent Control Author:James M. Buchanan
“If we don't like rent control, we ought to oppose it on political and social grounds - and not just by arguing that, thanks to smartphones and social networks, we can create new, more efficient markets for matching short-term renters with tenants.” IfsPoliticalSocialTermOughtArguingThanksEfficientShort TermSocial NetworkMatchingSmartphonesTenantsEfficient MarketsRent Control Author:Evgeny Morozov
“I don't know about the rest of the country but in New York more people have learned anonymity from rent control than ever discovered it in a twelve-step program.” PeopleKnowsCountryStepsNew YorkProgramTwelveAnonymityRent Control Author:Lawrence Block
“Next to bombing, rent control is the most effective technique so far known for destroying cities.” NextCitiesKnownEconomicsTechniqueDestroyingBombingRent Control Author:Assar Lindbeck
“Rent control has in certain Western countries constituted, maybe, the worst example of poor planning by Governments lacking courage and vision.” CountryGovernmentCertainPoorVisionWorstExampleWesternPlanningLackingPoor PlanningRent Control Author:Gunnar Myrdal
“In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city - except for bombing.” CitiesKnownCasesTechniqueEfficientBombingRent Control Author:Assar Lindbeck
“When we hear about rent control or gun control, we may think about rent or guns but the word that really matters is 'control.' That is what the political left is all about, as you can see by the incessant creation of new restrictions in places where they are strongly entrenched in power, such as San Francisco or New York.” ThinkingMayMatterPoliticalLeftNew YorkCreationGunGun ControlSan FranciscoRestrictionIncessantRent Control Author:Thomas Sowell
“The Austrian School came into existence when a bunch of Viennese rent-gouging landlords didn't want rent control on the rents they could gouge out of their tenants in old Vienna, so they hired a bunch of scribblers - and that's the Austrian School.” WantSchoolExistenceBunchViennaLandlordTenantsRent Control Author:Webster Tarpley
“These people talk of a "middle-of-the-road" policy. What they do not see is that the isolated interference, which means the interference with only one small part of the economic system, brings about a situation which the government itself — and the people who are asking for government interference — find worse than the conditions they wish to abolish: the people who are asking for rent control are very angry when they discover there is a shortage of apartments and a shortage of housing.” PeopleMeanGovernmentWishSituationEconomicMiddleConditionsPolicyAskingAngryIsolatedApartmentHousingInterferenceAbolishShortageEconomic SystemsSmall PartsMiddle Of The RoadRent Control Author:Ludwig von Mises
“Rent-control laws disproportionately benefit the non-poor because the elite pull strings, work the system and are better connected than the non-poor.” LawPoorBenefitsConnectedStringsElitesRent Control Author:Larry Elder