IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/regeco/v101y2023ics0166046223000510.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effectiveness and supply effects of high-coverage rent control policies

Author

Listed:
  • Jofre-Monseny, Jordi
  • Martínez-Mazza, Rodrigo
  • Segú, Mariona

Abstract

Concerns about housing affordability are widespread in cities worldwide, prompting discussions about rent control policies. This paper studies the effects of a rent control policy adopted in Catalonia in 2020 that applied to some but not all municipalities. The policy virtually covered all the rental market and forced ads and tenancy agreements to specify the applicable rent cap to ensure enforcement. To identify the causal effect of the rent control regulation on the rental market, we exploit register microdata of tenancy agreements and implement difference-in-differences regressions and event-study designs. Our results indicate that the regulation reduced average rents paid by about 4% to 6%. We do not find evidence of a reduction in the supply of rental units, as measured by the number of signed and ended agreements or the active stock of rental units. We implement several robustness tests to address identification concerns related to Covid-19. Our results suggest that rent control policies can effectively reduce rental prices without necessarily shrinking the rental market.

Suggested Citation

  • Jofre-Monseny, Jordi & Martínez-Mazza, Rodrigo & Segú, Mariona, 2023. "Effectiveness and supply effects of high-coverage rent control policies," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:101:y:2023:i:c:s0166046223000510
    DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2023.103916
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166046223000510
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2023.103916?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joan Monràs & José Garcia Montalvo, 2021. "The effect of second generation rent controls: New evidence from Catalonia," Economics Working Papers 1836, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Apr 2022.
    2. Arjun Ramani & Nicholas Bloom, 2021. "The Donut Effect of Covid-19 on Cities," NBER Working Papers 28876, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. David H. Autor & Christopher J. Palmer & Parag A. Pathak, 2014. "Housing Market Spillovers: Evidence from the End of Rent Control in Cambridge, Massachusetts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 122(3), pages 661-717.
    4. Edward L. Glaeser & Erzo F. P. Luttmer, 2003. "The Misallocation of Housing Under Rent Control," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1027-1046, September.
    5. Garcia-López, Miquel-Àngel & Jofre-Monseny, Jordi & Martínez-Mazza, Rodrigo & Segú, Mariona, 2020. "Do short-term rental platforms affect housing markets? Evidence from Airbnb in Barcelona," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    6. Jack Favilukis & Pierre Mabille & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2023. "Affordable Housing and City Welfare," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(1), pages 293-330.
    7. Mense, Andreas & Michelsen, Claus & Kholodilin, Konstantin A., 2023. "Rent Control, Market Segmentation, and Misallocation: Causal Evidence from a Large-Scale Policy Intervention," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    8. Rebecca Diamond & Tim McQuade & Franklin Qian, 2019. "The Effects of Rent Control Expansion on Tenants, Landlords, and Inequality: Evidence from San Francisco," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(9), pages 3365-3394, September.
    9. Sims, David P., 2007. "Out of control: What can we learn from the end of Massachusetts rent control?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 129-151, January.
    10. Andreas Mense & Claus Michelsen & Konstantin A. Kholodilin, 2019. "The Effects of Second-Generation Rent Control on Land Values," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 385-388, May.
    11. Gupta, Arpit & Mittal, Vrinda & Peeters, Jonas & Van Nieuwerburgh, Stijn, 2022. "Flattening the curve: Pandemic-Induced revaluation of urban real estate," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 594-636.
    12. Batalha, Mafalda & Gonçalves, Duarte & Peralta, Susana & Pereira dos Santos, João, 2022. "The virus that devastated tourism: The impact of covid-19 on the housing market," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lorenzo Vidal & Javier Gil & Miguel A Martínez, 2024. "Accommodating ‘generation rent’: Unsettling dominant discourses on rental housing reform in Catalonia and Spain," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(11), pages 2060-2079, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vera Baye & Valeriya Dinger, 2024. "Investment incentives of rent controls and gentrification: Evidence from German micro data," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 52(3), pages 843-884, May.
    2. Breidenbach, Philipp & Eilers, Lea & Fries, Jan, 2022. "Temporal dynamics of rent regulations – The case of the German rent control," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Chen, Ruoyu & Jiang, Hanchen & Quintero, Luis E., 2023. "Measuring the value of rent stabilization and understanding its implications for racial inequality: Evidence from New York City," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    4. Joan Monràs & José Garcia Montalvo, 2021. "The effect of second generation rent controls: New evidence from Catalonia," Economics Working Papers 1836, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Apr 2022.
    5. Julia Fonseca & Lu Liu, 2024. "Mortgage Lock‐In, Mobility, and Labor Reallocation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 79(6), pages 3729-3772, December.
    6. Mense, Andreas & Michelsen, Claus & Kholodilin, Konstantin A., 2023. "Rent Control, Market Segmentation, and Misallocation: Causal Evidence from a Large-Scale Policy Intervention," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    7. Rainald Borck & Niklas Gohl, 2021. "Gentrification and Affordable Housing Policies," CESifo Working Paper Series 9454, CESifo.
    8. Alessio Sardo & Gianluca Cerruti & Arnulfo Daniel Mateos Durán & Allegra Grillo, 2024. "The judicial response to rent controls in Europe: Protecting property rights against state’s intervention?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 221-281, October.
    9. Seltzer, Lee, 2024. "Effects of financing constraints on maintenance investments in rent-stabilized apartments," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    10. Kholodilin, Konstantin A., 2024. "Rent control effects through the lens of empirical research: An almost complete review of the literature," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    11. Breidenbach, Philipp & Eilers, Lea & Fries, Jan Ludwig, 2019. "Rent control and rental prices: High expectations, high effectiveness?," Working Papers 07/2018, German Council of Economic Experts / Sachverständigenrat zur Begutachtung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung.
    12. repec:ces:ifosdt:v:74:y:2021:i:03:p:26-29 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Ligia Topan & Miguel Jerez & Sonia Sotoca, 2020. "The impact of oil prices on products groups inflation: is the effect asymmetric?," Documentos de Trabajo del ICAE 2020-02, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Instituto Complutense de Análisis Económico.
    14. Matthias Wrede, 2024. "Housing Cooperatives, Housing Affordability, and Rent Control," CESifo Working Paper Series 11452, CESifo.
    15. Loïc Bonneval & Florence Goffette‐Nagot & Zhejin Zhao, 2022. "The impact of rent control: Investigations on historical data in the city of Lyon," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 1646-1667, December.
    16. Kholodilin, Konstantin A. & Limonov, Leonid E. & Waltl, Sofie R., 2021. "Housing rent dynamics and rent regulation in St. Petersburg (1880–1917)," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 81.
    17. Jan David Bakker & Nikhil Datta, 2024. "Avenging the tenants: Regulating the middle man's rents," CEP Discussion Papers dp2019, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    18. Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M. & Heblich, Stephan & Seidel, Tobias, 2023. "Micro-geographic property price and rent indices," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    19. Hahn, Anja M. & Kholodilin, Konstantin A. & Waltl, Sofie R., 2020. "Forward to the Past: Short-Term Effects of the Rent Freeze in Berlin," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 308, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    20. Gandhi, Sahil & Green, Richard K. & Patranabis, Shaonlee, 2022. "Insecure property rights and the housing market: Explaining India’s housing vacancy paradox," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    21. Howard, Greg & Liebersohn, Jack & Ozimek, Adam, 2023. "The short- and long-run effects of remote work on U.S. housing markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(1), pages 166-184.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rent control; Housing; Public policy evaluation; Event study;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R52 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Land Use and Other Regulations
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:101:y:2023:i:c:s0166046223000510. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/regec .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.