Roughly 4 in 5 Americans Back Rent Caps, Redfin Survey Reveals

Article originally posted on Multifamily Executive on October 28, 2024

Over three-quarters of residents, 82%, said they believe there should be caps on the amounts landlords are allowed to increase rent, according to a new survey commissioned by Redfin.

Rent control has been a contentious topic for the multifamily housing industry for many years. Seven states and Washington, D.C., have state or local rent control policies in place. In addition, the White House proposed a federal policy in July that would cap rent increases on existing units at 5% nationwide.

Redfin found the respondents’ views were similar regardless of their political affiliation or if they rented or owned a home. The survey was conducted by Ipsos in September and was fielded to 1,802 renters and home buyers between the ages of 18 and 65.

According to Redfin, 86% of respondents who identified themselves as Democrats cited there should be caps on rent hikes compared with 79% who identified as Republicans. In addition, 86% of renters said they believe there should be caps compared with 78% of homeowners.

Out of the respondents, 188 live in California. Nearly 4 of every 5 respondents who live in the Golden State said they believe there should be caps on rent increases, similar to the national share. While the state already has rent control, with landlords not able to raise rents more than 5% plus the increase in cost of living annually, voters in November will be weighing in on Proposition 33, which seeks to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995 and would give local jurisdictions even more power to regulate rents.

However, despite the strong support for rent caps, Redfin economists said this type of action can increase rental costs in the long term because they can make the supply shortage worse.

“Rent control sounds appealing for renters in theory because it limits price increases and saves money in the short term, but it eventually worsens rental affordability because it exacerbates the supply shortage,” said economic research lead Chen Zhao. “If rent increases are capped below the amount developers would need to make a profit, they have little incentive to build more apartments and homes. The best way to make rentals more affordable is to build more units.”