Biden’s Rent Control Plan Will Make the Housing Crisis Worse
Biden’s plan to cap the increases large landlords can charge will only discourage more investment.
How many are rent-controlled?
Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
For at least one demographic, this presidential campaign is serving as a unifying force: Every credible economist agrees that both parties are proposing terrible economic policies.
The latest is President Joe Biden’s plan for national rent control. He casually dropped the possibility of such a policy during a press conference last week, and on Tuesday the White House released its official plan. Under the proposal, which exempts new construction, landlords with 50 or more units would agree to either cap rent increases at 5% or give up federal tax breaks. The policy joins Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s proposals to impose a 10% tariff on all imports and make tipped income tax-free.