Law Commons^™

Absentee Landlords, Rent Control, And Healthy Gentrification: A Policy Proposal To Deconcentrate The Poor In Urban America, Jorge O. Elorza

Law Faculty Scholarship

Empirical data overwhelmingly suggests that the presence of middle- and working-class homeowners is beneficial for inner-city communities. Yet, absentee landlords have a systematic financial advantage over resident landlords when it comes to purchasing homes in blighted neighborhoods. This advantage has disastrous effects for inner cities, as the communities with the greatest need for the stabilizing presence of middle- and working-class homeowners are the ones least likely to attract them. The lack of in-moving homeowners and the resulting increase in poverty cause declining neighborhoods to fall deeper into downward spirals. In this Article, I propose a rent control plan designed to …