<i>What you mean to say is that market rate would go down for the average new arrival.</i><p>I was taking the words &quot;market rate&quot; to mean &quot;rate negotiated by people operating at arms length&quot; as opposed to &quot;rate dictated by government without any negotiations having taken place&quot;.  But yes.<p><i>But why should anyone who already lives here care about that person?</i><p>They don&#x27;t.  And that&#x27;s exactly the problem with rent controls: They benefit the <i>current</i> local residents at the expense of <i>future</i> residents, and hurt society as a whole.  It&#x27;s the same problem as property tax controls (current owners pay lower rates than future owners) and union seniority rules (current union members get paid more than future union members), which is why some states have laws prohibiting rent control in spite of the desire by local governments to impose it.