Rent control woes

Because of rent control, San Francisco, one of the most difficult places in the country to find a place to live, has 31,000 vacant housing units as landlords give up.

Thomas Sowell has long complained about rent control in San Francisco and elsewhere.

It is the same story when housing prices are controlled by government. Rent control has allowed some people to take up more housing space than they would if they had to pay the full price that reflects other people’s demand for housing.
The net result, whether in New York or San Francisco or elsewhere, is a lot of apartments with just one person living in each, and lots of families who cannot find a vacant place to move into. Housing shortages have resulted from rent control in cities around the world.
Housing shortages mean that some people are forced to live far from their jobs and commute, and some become homeless on the street. Homelessness tends to be greater in cities with rent control — New York and San Francisco again being classic examples.

I like this line:

Economists have long been saying that there is no free lunch but politicians get elected by promising free lunches. Controlling prices creates the illusion of free lunches.