Rent controlled apartments refer to residential housing that have the rent price controlled by local laws or ordinances. This practice started during World War I to prevent profiteering and evictions in large metropolitan areas like New York City and Los Angeles. Four states and the District of Columbia still have rent control laws or ordinances on the books. Some states have preemption laws that allow for the creation of rent control if the need should arise due to a housing shortage. Eleven states, including Alaska and Hawaii, have no provisions for rent control laws.

Los Angeles and California

Many of the rent control laws in California apply to mobile home parks. In Los Angeles, apartments rent control laws apply to residential housing constructed before October 1, 1978. In California, as in many other places across the country, rent control is being phased out as each rent controlled apartment is vacated. Originally enacted during times of housing shortages, these laws now don’t necessarily serve the purpose for which they were intended.

New York City

In New York City, rent control applies to residential buildings constructed before 1947. The majority of rent controlled apartments in New York City are occupied by the elderly who have continuously inhabited the unit since July or 1971, or by the lawful successor. Despite the numerous sitcom shenanigans about rent controlled apartments in New York City, the laws are very strict and can only be very narrowly interpreted. Even passing the apartment onto the next generation is difficult, and getting a rent controlled apartment that hasn’t been in the family is next to impossible.

Across the Country

Even as rent control is phased out in many places, it does serve a purpose. Apartment rent control helps keep certain housing within reach for the elderly, disabled or disadvantaged. In New York City alone, the number or rent controlled units has gone from about 2 million at its height in the 1950s, to under 40,000 today. Stabilizing rent at a fair market value for both the renter and the landlord is what most cities are striving to achieve.