How tightening mortgage credit raises rents and increases inequality in the housing market

Housing affordability is at the centre of the political debate in many euro area countries. With steadily increasing rents and house prices still high relative to historical standards, many young households, particularly in large cities, are devoting an ever larger share of their income to housing expenses, and are finding it increasingly hard to access their desired size and quality of housing. At the same time, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, many authorities tightened credit conditions by introducing limits to mortgage debt for banks or for borrowers themselves (borrower-based measures). These interventions were successful in improving financial stability, which was their key objective. In this article we point to an overlooked potential downside of these policies and other restrictive shocks to credit: limiting access to mortgage credit and, therefore, to homeownership, can spill over into the rental market, pushing up rents and having a negative welfare impact on some households – particularly the young and those on low incomes. JEL Classification: D15, E21, E30, E51, G51