There is some justification for rent control in that scenario- since we can't build housing instantly in response to rapidly raising demand, we would still see a big bump in rents from that demand before new supply lowers it down again. Well designed rent control can help alleviate that.
For example, we could have rent control that limits increases to 10% plus inflation per year, which would allow builders to still be attracted by higher prices while spreading out the impact for tenants. We could also have rent control on buildings older than 15 years, which would avoid any decreases in new build housing because housing investors typically have a 15 year timeframe for returns for their investment.
The fourth thing we need to do: build much, much more housing and implement sensible rent control to lower housing costs.
I am not a fan of rent control -- unless done really really well. I did put build more housing in my "tip of the iceberg" list.
If we reduce restriction on residential and commercial development, there would be no justification for rent control.
There is some justification for rent control in that scenario- since we can't build housing instantly in response to rapidly raising demand, we would still see a big bump in rents from that demand before new supply lowers it down again. Well designed rent control can help alleviate that.
For example, we could have rent control that limits increases to 10% plus inflation per year, which would allow builders to still be attracted by higher prices while spreading out the impact for tenants. We could also have rent control on buildings older than 15 years, which would avoid any decreases in new build housing because housing investors typically have a 15 year timeframe for returns for their investment.