Rent Control

From Investment Wiki

Government policy restricting how much a landlord can increase rent year to year. See this article. As of 2008, these were the only US states that had rent control in place.

http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/investment-analysis/The-pros-and-cons-of-rent-control

In San Francisco, California, the San Francisco Rent Board limits the allowable annual rent increase. If the landlord adjusts rents between March 1, 2008 and February 28, 2009, the Allowable Rent Increase is 2%, higher than the 1.5% allowable increase from March 2007 to February 2008. Under the law, the allowable rent increase should not exceed 7% annually.

Washington D.C. - The Rent Stabilization Program (Occupancy and Rent Guidelines) prescribes maximum allowable rents and rent increases. For most units, the allowable annual rent increase is CPI plus 2 percentage points, but not more than 10%. For elderly and disabled tenants, maximum rent increase is equal to the CPI but not more than 5%. If the unit is vacated, the rent can be increased by a maximum of 10%. A landlord in Washington D.C. can also ask for a Hardship Petition which allows the landlord to increase the rent to a level that allows 12% rate of return. There are other measures in place to provide incentives for the construction and maintenance of rental units.

New Jersey - Local governments in New Jersey, such as Jersey City and Camden, impose maximum rent increases. For Jersey City, the annual maximum allowable increase is 4% or the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W), whichever is less. A hardship Rental Increase is also allowed to give landlords a fair return on their investments. Fair return is defined as 6 percentage points above the savings interest rate. In Camden, the annual allowable increase is the CPI or 6%, whichever is less.

New York - For the state of New York, rent control applies to building constructed before February 1947 in 51 municipalities including New York City. Generally, the amount of tenants under rent control is getting smaller each year. Rent stabilization, on the other hand, applies to apartments with a monthly rent of less than $2,000. As an example, the allowable rent increase for rent stabilized apartments in New York City is 2.75% for leases lasting for one year with heating provided by the landlord. Landlords can also apply for Comparative Hardship or Alternative Hardship where they can be allowed to increase rents up to 6% annually.