&gt;you&#x27;re forcing someone else to pick up your tab<p>Circumstantial scarcity of housing aside, unless the landlord is paying more in building maintenance and property taxes, the assumed loss of revenue due to inflated land costs is not actually &quot;costing&quot; anything.<p>If instead of rent control the federal government forced cities to build an ample supply of housing for the local population within commutable distance, causing the price of investment land &#x2F; buildings to drop, the cost of maintaining that land remains the same.