For two generations, rent control laws have been a fact of American life. The early adopters, like Cambridge and San Francisco, have detailed property use records, and their long history has enabled elegant research into the usefulness of control ordinances. The results are in.

The two stomach-churning findings for control advocates? Rent control soon discriminates against the least wealthy tenants and apartment owners use available strategies to withdraw from the control market. Compared to pre-control, gentrification runs hot. Landlords use avoidance methods: ownership sales via condominium conversions, exploitation of ordinance exemptions to achieve rent resets, evictions for renovations justifying more profitable post-renovation rents. All these and others are forms of avoidable gentrification. The lower rental market size means higher competition for units, unfavorable for tenants without access to subsidized housing.

Recommended for anyone interested is research published by Stanford economics professor Rebecca Diamond, who did a historical study of San Francisco rent control. In addition to her data work, she annotated 118 other research papers and articles.

The problem is inadequate housing supply. Backward, ham-fisted regulation doesn’t work. As the research shows, it makes the problem worse. Portland’s experience may be different, although no reason that it would be is obvious. Competition for apartments is already brutal. Question A will fix a little of this. Vote “yes.”

James Cloutier
former city councilor
Portland