Our multifamily investors tell us how rent control implications have impacted their investment and operational strategies.
Rent control is always a hot-button issue. I'm not for it, except when I am, like I said in last week's issue. (If that sounds confusing, it involves a dirtbag, opportunistic landlord.)
Our survey last week focused specifically on how rent control influences (or has influenced) your multifamily investment or operations strategies.Survey ResultsHere's what you said when asked how rent control has affected your approach to multifamily.
Impact | Percent of respondents |
|---|---|
It's changed where I invest | 37% |
More selective with renovations | 17% |
Increased tenant screening | 10% |
More legal compliance issues | 3% |
It hasn't affected me | 21% |
Other | 12% |
More than a third of our respondents said that rent control plays a part in deciding where they invest.
That aligns well with a lot of the discourse on rent control in the industry. The theory goes: When you artificially freeze or slow rents in a city (or county, or state), you stifle investment and development there. Makes sense, as investors expect returns. And it's increasingly hard to get a decent return if you can't raise your property's income to match its (ever-increasing) costs.What did surprise me? About one-fifth of our respondents said that they haven't seen an impact from rent control. Honestly, I thought it would be a lot higher, given how few areas actually have limits in place on rent increases in place.Get the Multifamily MinuteLooking to get a little more out of your multifamily investments? Or just want to listen to me rant about various issues involved in the sector? You find your guy. Drop your email address into the form below, and you'll get the latest insights each Tuesday.
Our Previous Survey Results
Last week we talked about something neither near nor dear to my heart: renters insurance. Namely, why does it matter to you (as a landlord) if your tenants have it or not? Turns out, it can make a pretty sizeable difference in a few surprising ways.