Poetic Justice

Rent control is a bad idea. A few lucky folks will be able to live in very nice apartments until they die and not have to pay to up keep them. These few will also have the law on their side when the owner does not make improvements or repairs because he isn't able to afford or cost justify the expense. The law will force the owner to make the repairs/improvements and can cause the building to be forfeited if he fails to do so.

For the majority, all rent control does is lead to housing shortages (Santa Monica and New York City are two good examples) and a lack of new apartments from being built (who will build apartments if they are not able to make money?).

Berkeley is another city with a strict rent control law, and one of the biggest supporters and proponents is Michael Berkowitz. In a poetic twist of fate, he has been charged with taking over $100,000 from his tenants in illegal rent payments. He has to pay the city this money, which will put it in an escrow account and contact the current and former tenants to issue refunds. Of course Berkowitz is going to appeal saying his circumstances exempted him from the law (it may have), but I find it ironic that a person who was a champion of rent control is so angry when the law is applied to himself. The American Thinker has the story.