RENT CONTROL: A BRIEF HISTORY

Rent control is a relatively recent phenomenon in the world of economics. It has emerged over the past century, peaking during time of war and uncertainty such as the Second World War [1939-1945], but has been slowly dying out since the mid-1980s. In India, rent control really emerged in a big way in the years following the First World War. War Rent Restrictions that were imposed in the state of Bombay in the 1930s. This came about in the aftermath of the First World War when the accommodation scarcity in Bombay was very high. According to these restrictions, landlords could not exploit their tenants and only predetermined rents were to be paid. Unfortunately, these rent restrictions continued for over sixty years before they could be reformed. Rent control hit other parts of the Country after partition. Rehabilitation colonies were set up in Delhi, the capital city of independent India, as also in several cities. These rehabilitation colonies were planned residential areas with properly laid out roads, parks, community facilities, etc. It was also during this time that new towns and ‘model towns’ were developed. Further, the migration of people from various rural areas into the erstwhile Presidency towns, mostly from jobs in the newly formed central and state governments had led to a growing housing shortage in these big cities. This required the imposition of rent control.

The United Kingdom imposed rent control after the end of the Second World War in 1945. This was the first time it was being implemented in the British Isles, and the main object was to ensure that there was equitable distributing of houses at reasonable rates to all sections of society. Rent control in America is synonymous with its implementation in New York City. Rent controls were part of the temporary price controls imposed during World War II. This policy, known as the War Emergency Tenant Protection Act was meant to assist poorer residents and also to protect people from war related housing shortages. There was a fear that the return of troops from the battlefront would send rents skywards. Similar rent control legislations were in effect throughout the United States during the war years and for decades later.