Rent controls have split housing in Berlin into two distinct markets
An issue that many commenters here are missing is that the problem with rent control will manifest more sharply in the future.<p>Sure, the impact today seems <i>relatively</i> equitable: a windfall for people that rent today coupled with a small drop in supply.<p>But fast forward 10 or 20 years and the situation looks far worse: everyone who got a windfall today is <i>still</i> living in the same apartment, whereas anyone trying to enter the rental market is utterly SOL. The people that are really getting screwed are 10 years old today: when they try to move out of Mom and Dad's they will enter a market with vastly reduced supply since nobody has any incentive to move.<p>This is why if you're 19 you can't afford to live in Manhattan: you're either old (and lucky) or rich.