A stable, affordable, quality home is a basic human need and a bedrock of health. Whether one rents or owns, a home should provide shelter, dignity, and allow us to be a part of a community’s social, political and economic fabric. Yet, more people are unhoused than ever before, and one million renters received eviction notices last year. Half of all renter households, including those residing in formerly lower-cost rural areas, pay unaffordable rents, or more than a third of their income. That is equivalent to every household in DC, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, and North Carolina struggling with rent each month. This isn’t just a housing problem; it’s an urgent public health emergency. As part of a broader effort to make housing a right for all people, rent control is a key tool to help slow rent growth, keep households and communities stable and powerful, and in doing so, protect health.
Though widely supported by voters across the political spectrum, the movement for rent control faces stiff real estate industry opposition. The partnership of the public health field could help win passage of this important policy, and by doing so, improve health. This paper briefly presents the evidence concerning rent control and health and discusses the roles that public health practitioners and organizations can play in advancing rent control. We hope that it provides a helpful starting point for the public health field to support rent control and allows housing justice advocates to bring a health perspective to their work.