What the Global Research on Rent Control Means for Rent Stabilization in Salinas, CA

In 2024, a landmark academic review examined 112 empirical studies on rent control spanning more than 50 years, dozens of cities, and multiple types of rent regulations. The findings offer a powerful framework for understanding how the Salinas Rent Stabilization Ordinance (SRSO) is likely to affect local tenants, landlords, and the overall housing ecosystem. And the results should concern anyone committed to long-term affordability, neighborhood quality, and housing opportunities for Salinas residents.

Below is how the article’s key findings apply directly to Salinas.

1. Rent Stabilization Lowers Rents—But Only for Existing Tenants

The research confirms rent caps do hold rents down for households already in controlled units. That’s the central benefit of rent regulation: lower rent for the people who already have housing.

In Salinas, this means that some tenants—especially those in older buildings—will feel relief in the short term.

But this benefit is extremely narrow. The article notes that rent control does not lower rents citywide; it only helps the households lucky enough to already live in the controlled units. Meanwhile, everyone else pays more. 

This is important in Salinas—a city with:

High renter population
Limited available units
Extremely tight supply
One of the lowest vacancy rates on the Central Coast

Most renters will never access a stabilized unit. The supply is fixed, and the beneficiaries are locked in for years—sometimes decades.

2. Rent Stabilization Raises Rents in All Uncontrolled Units (Newer Housing, Single-Family Rentals, ADUs)

The review is unequivocal:

When one part of the market is capped, the rest of the market becomes more expensive.

This happens because:

Capped units don’t turn over
Fewer rentals are built
Demand shifts into the uncontrolled market
Landlords of exempt properties raise prices to offset risk, political uncertainty, and reduced supply

In Salinas, uncontrolled units include:

Newly renovated apartments
Many single-family rentals
New construction
ADUs and small landlord properties
Units exempt under Costa-Hawkins

Those renters will shoulder the increased cost.
In a city already struggling with affordability, this pushes moderate-income families even further out of reach.

3. Housing Quality Declines—A Major Risk in Salinas’ Older Housing Stock

The review overwhelmingly finds that rent-controlled housing deteriorates over time. Landlords simply do not have the revenue or incentive to reinvest. 

In Salinas—where a significant portion of rental housing is:

Older
Aging faster due to climate, leaks, and soil movement
Already under-maintained
Dependent on small “mom and pop” landlords who operate on thin margins

This is a recipe for rapid decline.

Reduced maintenance leads to:

Mold
Leaks
Heating failures
Electrical problems
Chronic safety issues
Declining curb appeal and neighborhood disinvestment

Rent stabilization may make these problems worse.

4. Rent Control Reduces New Construction—Exactly What Salinas Cannot Afford

According to the article, two-thirds of studies find rent control reduces housing supply, including new construction, reinvestment, and rental conversions. 

In Salinas, this is particularly damaging because:

The city needs thousands of units to meet demand.
Builders already face high fees, slow permitting, water restrictions, and limited land.
Margins are tight; regulatory uncertainty makes developers walk away.
Investor confidence is shaken when local councils adopt anti-development policies.

The article warns that rent control can shift entire markets toward:

Fewer rental units
Private condos instead of rentals
Conversion of apartments into owner-occupied housing

This would worsen Salinas’s already severe housing shortage.

5. Turnover Plummets—Blocking Working Families From Housing

Nearly all studies show mobility decreases under rent control. Tenants stay in cheap units even when they no longer fit the household size, income, or location. 

In Salinas, this means:

A retired couple may stay in a 3-bedroom stabilized unit for decades.
A family of five may spend years searching for a unit they can afford.
Farmworkers, service workers, and new renters get shut out entirely.
Turnover falls, availability collapses, and rents spike for those trying to enter the market.

Salinas is a workforce city. Reduced mobility directly harms:

Agricultural employers
Hospitals
Schools
Service industries

If workers can’t find housing, job vacancies rise and commute times explode.

6. Segregation and Inequality Can Increase—Even When Rent Control Is Meant to Promote Equity

The review finds that rent control often benefits higher-income, longer-term tenants, while newcomers—often lower-income or minority households—struggle the most. 

In Salinas, where:

75%+ of farmworkers rent
Many families are multi-generational
Immigrants and low-income newcomers rely heavily on rental turnover

A system that “freezes” existing tenants in place can worsen inequality and reinforce entrenched neighborhood divides.

7. The Tax Base Shrinks—Hurting City Services

The review documents that rent control reduces property values and therefore reduces property-tax revenues. 

In Salinas, which already faces:

Limited police staffing
Aging infrastructure
Homelessness and mental health service gaps
Street maintenance backlogs

shrinking the tax base means cutting—rather than improving—local services.

8. The Net Social Benefit Is Unclear—But the Risks Are High for Cities Like Salinas

The study’s concluding argument:

Rent control provides short-term benefits to some households but results in broad, long-term costs that reduce overall social welfare. 

For Salinas, the trade-offs are especially steep:

Low supply
High demand
An older housing stock
Minimal new construction
Limited land
Households with large families and varied mobility needs
High poverty rates
Limited city revenue

This is exactly the environment where rent control’s unintended consequences hit hardest.

What This Means for the Future of Housing in Salinas

The review provides a critical blueprint for evaluating the SRSO:

✔ Good policy if the goal is short-term relief for a small number of tenants.

✖ Bad policy if the goal is affordable housing for the entire city.

✖ Harmful if the goal is to encourage investment, maintenance, and owner participation.

✖ Catastrophic if the goal is producing more housing for working families.

Salinas needs:

More homes, not frozen ones
Incentives to build, not penalties
Tenant protections, not policies that shrink supply
Revitalized neighborhoods, not disinvestment
Policies that help all renters, not just those who happen to already occupy a regulated unit

Rent stabilization may sound compassionate, but the research reveals it hurts future tenants the most—the very people the city claims to protect.

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