Rent control as a topic has a good bit of research literature focused on it. Based on real-life cases, restricting the amount of rent a landlord may collect tends to dis-incentivize capital improvements to a property, or even new construction, because the costs tend to increase with inflation, many times at a faster pace than rent growth. While rent control measures can stem the rapid rise in rents over a short time period (and thus offer relief to burdened tenants), over a longer time horizon, they tend to discourage development and lead to diminished supply in the market, which in turn, keeps market-rate rents going up. A more sustainable solution for affordable housing, especially given population growth, is new construction. - George