It costs a lot to rent an apartment in Colorado these days. Let’s just hope the state’s lawmakers don’t step in and try to “do something” about it. The result is likely to put housing out of reach for even more would-be renters.
Rent control — soft-pedaled nowadays under euphemisms like “rent stabilization” or “inclusionary zoning” — would be a disaster if imposed on Coloradans. It has backfired wherever else it has been attempted in the country.
Artificially capping rent in hopes of helping some renters will raise rent for everyone else and slow construction of rental units. Capping rent for everyone throughout a community is guaranteed to bring construction to a grinding halt. The rentals that exist, meanwhile, will decay as landlords no longer will be able to cover the cost of keeping them up.
See the full article by Gazette editorial board, July 14, 2022