Rent Control

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling. Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world. Rent control laws vary from one country to another, and may vary from one jurisdiction to another within some countries. In the United States during World War I, rents were "controlled" through the efforts of local rent anti-profiteering committees and public pressure. Between 1919 and 1924, a number of cities and states adopted rent and eviction control laws. Modern rent controls were first adopted in response to WWII-era shortages, or following Richard Nixon's 1971 wage and price controls. They remain in effect or have been reintroduced in some cities with large tenant populations, such as New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Oakland, California. Many smaller communities also have rent control, notably the California cities of Santa Monica, Berkeley, and West Hollywood, along with many small towns in New Jersey. In recent years, rent control in some cities, such as Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been ended by state referendums.