The usual argument for rent controls is that New York has a very low housing-vacancy rate (4%) and that the only way to ensure the availability of affordable homes in such a tight market and to prevent tenants from being evicted in favour of new, higher-paying occupants is to regulate rents.

ECONOMIST: New York��s housing market

With a vacancy rate of less than one percent across the city, moderately-priced housing is getting hard to find.

ECONOMIST: Rent control