Rent control and complete contract equilibria

This paper develops a theoretical model for analysing the effects of rent control. The model incorporates the roles of optimal long-term contractual arrangements and the responses of individual agents to rent control in determining the economic characteristics of the controlled market equilibrium, and can help to explain the wide variation in empirical results observed across jurisdictions. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a complete contract equilibrium, where the characteristics of the competitive and controlled solutions are identical, are established. It is shown that housing quality, new construction, and the distribution of wealth may not be affected by rent control.