Rent Control Is a Kludge, Not an Answer, for Affordable Housing

California Embraces Complex Formulas to Dodge the Hard Work of Actually Fixing a Problem

Rent control won’t solve California’s enormous housing problems. But that’s not stopping many Californians from pursuing rent control policies in their hometowns.

2016 threatens to become the Year of Rent Control, with the topic white-hot in the Bay Area, home to California’s most expensive housing. Rent control refers to laws that put limits on how much landlords may raise rents; such laws often include provisions requiring landlords to produce specific causes before evicting tenants.

Last summer, Richmond became the first city in California in 30 years to pass a new control law …