Rent Control and Housing Investment: Evidence from Deregulation in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Publication Date: May 2003

Publisher: Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Center for Civic Innovation

Author(s): Henry O. Pollakowski

Research Area: Business; Government; Social conditions

Keywords: rent stabilization; Cambridge, Massachusetts; deregulation; rent control

Type: Report

Coverage: New York Massachusetts

Abstract:

This study, authored by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) economist Dr. Henry O. Pollakowski, tracks the effects of rent deregulation on construction and repair-related housing investment in Cambridge, MA since rent control ended there in 1994. Dr. Pollakowski finds that rent deregulation in Cambridge led to a 20% increase in construction and repair related investment in formerly rent-controlled buildings. This study suggests that similar deregulation in the New York City housing market should lead to significant new investment in both affluent and modest income neighborhoods, thereby increasing housing quality.