Rent Control
Definition of "Rent control"
“What is Rent Control?”, you ask.
Rent Control is how some governmental policies that prevent the Landlord from abusively raising the rent are called in the real estate world.
"Rent control in NYC!" is how TV producers excuse themselves when asked how those twenty-something sitcom characters – like the ones on “Friends” - are able to afford to live in such huge apartments. But because of the omnipresent Rent Control in NYC broadcasted by Television and Movies, many people think that the whole country has it and that is not true. Not every state has rent control laws. And the ones that do, normally don’t impose those regulations over every single rental property. Rent Control is usually a tool against gentrification used only in communities where the demand for housing is too high - like NYC.
A Landlord with a house (or an apartment) under those rent laws basically has determined by the government when (and by how much) he/she can increase a Tenant's rent. This prevents the Tenants from having a bitter surprise when the time comes for the contract renewal.
Note: the Landlord is not stuck forever with the Tenant. He/She can reach out to the market and find a new Tenant willing to pay his/her overpriced rent, sure. However, he/she will have a hard time finding this new Tenant, because other properties in that same area are not costing as much, thanks to those governmental policies. If the new Tenant knows this, he/she will probably negotiate around that. Also, hopefully, the current Tenant will have done a good job on his/her rental contract and will have made a clause where he/she has the right to cover the offer and/or other tactics to keep himself/herself inside that property.
Real Estate Secrets:
Get smart with our Glossary Terms! Search away and learn hundreds of real estate words!
Want to find the best Rent Control properties? Find a specialized agent on The Official Real Estate Agent Directory®
Popular Real Estate Terms
The equity in property because of work in it by the buyer or holder which directly increases its value. ...
Also called earnest money. Money deposited with an individual for security for the performance so some contract. This is intended to show his/her willingness to follow through with the ...
Individual or business to which all rights (usually intangile) to property have been transferred. ...
The logical definition of both words is almost enough to understand what is earnest money. Money is a form of exchange between people to assert value to something and Earnest equals ...
Properties that about and actually touch and share a common border. Properties B and C are contiguous. Property A is adjacent to properties B and C, but it is not contiguous. ...
If you’re looking for the real estate agent definition, you’re in the right place. So, in the following paragraphs, we will try to examine the complex job of a real estate ...
Medium price for a new second home. Medium is the middle value between the lowest and highest figures. ...
Loan that allows the borrower to pay only the interest for the first few years of the loan. ...
Post-like components of wood that comprise a building frame. For example, a building code in a locality might require that studs measuring two-up-six be used for the exterior part of the ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.