Rent control is a short-term band-aid, and yet people seem to put it in place as a long-term solution. It's not. The long-term solution is to build more. Rent control just distorts the market, makes it hard for people to move if they want to, and makes non-rent-controlled units more expensive.

Rent control can help stop the bleeding while building catches up with demand, but it's ultimately a negative over the long term.