Anti-Price Gouging Is The New Rent Control
This session, the Colorado General Assembly is considering House Bill 24-1259, which would require a lesser-known form of rent control that is gaining traction in state legislatures across the nation: Government policies that limit rents during a declared state of emergency or natural disaster.
Proponents are experiencing success messaging these rent control policies as “anti-price gouging” and are gaining traction in places that historically would not seriously consider rent regulations. These policies are intended to be temporary during an emergency but in practice, constantly place additional burdens on housing providers in jurisdictions where triggering events frequently occur throughout the year. Currently, 35 states have legislation that protects against “price gouging” while 33 states preempt rent control. This overlap indicates that these supposedly temporary measures are often the most politically expedient way to institute a rent regulation regime.