Rent control

Rent Control's Revenge

While San Francisco's mayor calls for more rent control, Providence's mayor loses his primary for opposing the policy.

Christian Britschgi | 9.15.2026 3:55 PM

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Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. This week, we have two stories on the revenge of rent control.

In the midst of San Francisco's AI boom, Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Board of Supervisors are proposing a raft of new laws to tighten the city's rent control policies and prevent evictions.

Meanwhile, in Providence, Rhode Island, incumbent Mayor Brett Smiley, who had vetoed a rent control ordinance earlier this year, lost the Democratic primary to pro–rent control state Rep. David Morales.

Rent Free Newsletter by Christian Britschgi. Get more of Christian's urban regulation, development, and zoning coverage.

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One could consider Lurie and Smiley as more moderate liberal mayors of very blue cities. 

It's notable then that neither has proven capable of stopping the leftward drift of housing policies in their respective jurisdictions. 

In the midst of a cost crisis, Lurie is supporting even more price controls in a city that is already heavily rent-controlled. Smiley attempted to hold the line on good policy and vetoed a rent control ordinance. For his efforts, voters kicked him out of office. 

Other liberal municipal politicians who are undecided on whether to back the next rent control policy in their city may well take an unfortunate lesson away from these two examples. 

Better to play it safe and just support the price controls that most big-city voters say they want, even if it comes with terrible consequences for housing supply and quality. 

San Francisco's Mayor Declares a Rent Emergency 

Headlines about San Francisco housing lately have focused on the upward pressure the city's AI boom is putting on rents and home prices. Median rents are up 26 percent,........

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