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DOWDALL LAW OFFICES <br />A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION <br />ATTORNEYS AT LAW <br />City of Santa Ana <br />August 28, 2023 <br />Page 12 <br />and repair. One study estimated that a Los Angeles rent control law causes increased <br />deterioration over time, so much so that the deterioration offset a significant percentage of the <br />benefit to consumers of lowered rent.18 Studies of New York and Boston housing markets found <br />lower housing quality and fewer expenditures on maintenance and repair for rent -controlled units <br />versus market -rate units.19 This has obvious negative effects on tenants in rent -controlled <br />housing, because landlords lack the incentive to properly maintain units and provide amenities or <br />services that appeal to tenants in a competitive market. 20 <br />Rent Control Reduces Consumer Mobility and Entry. <br />Tenants in rent -controlled units are understandably reluctant to give up their housing <br />subsidy and thus are less willing to move or pursue homeownership, even when it may be in <br />their best interest to do so. One study found that rent control in New York City tripled the <br />expected duration of a tenant's residence.21 A study of San Francisco's housing market <br />concluded that rent control limited renters' mobility by 20% and lowered displacement from San <br />Francisco.22 This reduced mobility "can be particularly costly to families whose job <br />opportunities are geographically or otherwise limited and who may have to travel long distances <br />to reach those jobs available to them." <br />This can also cause spillover effects in the community, such as increased traffic <br />congestion and demand for city services. Additionally, rent control erects barriers to entry into <br />the housing market. As explained above, rent control has the effect of exacerbating housing <br />scarcity and raising rents for unregulated apartments. <br />Consequently, in many rent -controlled communities, prospective consumers must pay <br />'$ C.P. Rydell et al., The Impact of Rent Control on the Los Angeles Housing Market 55- <br />59, The Rand Corporation (1981). <br />19 NMHC, The High Cost of Rent Control. <br />20 Norm Miller, California Kent Controls: Good Intentions with Disastrous Consequences, Univ. <br />of San Diego (May 16, 2018), https://www.sandiego.edu/news/detail.php?_focus=67472. <br />21 Richard W. Ault et al., The Effect of Long -Term Rent Control on Tenant Mobility, 35 <br />J. Urb. Econ. 140 (1994). <br />" Diamond, et al., supra. <br />-12- <br />