Private rental housing markets in the united states

Abstract

Most rental housing in the U.S. is private and unsubsidized. This housing is governed by private contracts, regulated mainly by state and local governments, with said regulations enforced mainly by state and local courts. In the United States, the legal framework of rental housing is defined partly by statutory law, but mainly by common law as interpreted by courts, which has evolved considerably over the past 200 years. Generally, both statutory and common law vary by state and by locality. Most private landlords own their property fee simple absolute, and tenancies are defined by a lease contract. The most common lease duration is for one year; however a substantial number of apartment leases are month to month, and leases of two or three years are not unheard of. About two million rental units are privately owned but landlords or their tenants receive government subsidies. Governments regulate rents for part or all of the market in about 200 cities in the U.S. These cities contain about 10 percent of the U.S. renter population, and about four or five percent of the total rental stock is controlled. Details of regimes in selected cities can be found in Malpezzi (1993). These regulations are almost all local. All urban jurisdictions also have local land use and zoning regulations which greatly affect the rental market, as will also be discussed below.