The Truth AboutRent Control

Nevada’s rental prices have skyrocketed 29.4% since 2020. The average rent in Las Vegas sits at $1,745 and households need to make at least $69,810 annually to afford rent.

According to Nicholas Irwin, a UNLV assistant professor of economics and researcher at the Lied Center for Real Estate, this housing crisis exploded during the pandemic due to the increase in remote work that led to people in high-income states migrating to Nevada and squeezing locals out of the housing market.

And while there was a boom in single-family and apartment unit construction due to the pandemic, it appears that has come to an end. Housing permits in Nevada have dropped for the second year in a row, according to a new study from online real estate search portal Point2. In Las Vegas specifically, there was a staggering 23% drop in permits to build apartment units.
Nevada lawmakers are now debating whether the state should adopt rent control laws. But what does rent control do? Raises costs, lowers supply, and quality deteriorates.

Economists agree that a lack of supply drives housing costs up and that securing more federal land for housing and cutting government red tape will help with both supply and cost. They also agree that one of the most efficient ways to destroy a community is enacting rent control.

Rent control will hurt, not help, Nevadans.