- Sep 4, 2005
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Argentina Scrapped Its Rent Controls. Now the Market Is Thriving.
BUENOS AIRES—For years, Argentina imposed one of the world’s strictest rent-control laws. It was meant to keep homes such as the stately belle epoque apartments of Buenos Aires affordable, but instead, officials here say, rents soared.

Obviously this particular source has a bias, but I think some of the data points are still worth discussing given that there are still proposals out there for rent control.
Rental listings in Buenos Aires increased by 180% after Milei repealed rent control laws.
Real (inflation-adjusted) rents fell by 40% year-over-year following deregulation.
Property sales transactions in Buenos Aires exceeded 2023 levels by 35% in early 2024.
Mortgage-backed home sales in Buenos Aires tripled in 2024 compared to 2023.
I've noted before that rent controls are one of the few areas where economists from across the spectrum seem to be in agreement (Paul Krugman, Thomas Sowell, and Milton Friedman have all criticized the practice)
Is it time we start thinking about doing the same here in some cities where rent control has been grandfathered in?
Given the fact that in many of the US cities where these policies are still in play:
- a disproportionate number are occupied by affluent tenants (who've lived their for a long time, and their financial situation has changed quite a bit since they initially moved in decades ago)
- about 1 in 4 landlords leave the controlled units vacant, as there's no real incentive to rent it out since repairs and appliance replacements can exceed what they'd make on rent
- a substantial number of them get passed from family down to other family members, so it's still boxing a lot of people out of being able to take advantage of them