People who have stable housing tend to have better overall physical and mental health, according to a report published in a new issue.
Photo by Arturo Rosenow, courtesy of iStockphoto
Nearly half of American renters are burdened by housing costs and spend more than a third of their income on rent and utilities. While science consistently shows that stable, affordable housing improves health and well-being, rising costs are driving millions of renters out of their homes each year.
To help their residents prosper, some states and municipalities (including New York City, San Francisco, and Newark, New Jersey) have adopted rent control laws to hold landlords accountable to fair pricing standards and keep people in their homes.
Rent control sets predictable limits on rent increases while ensuring that landlords receive a fair return. The policies are often accompanied by “just cause” eviction protections, which prevent landlords from evicting tenants or refusing to renew leases without a specific, legally recognized reason.
The laws are especially beneficial to marginalized groups (including people of color, low-income households, families with children, women, people with disabilities, and immigrant families) who are disproportionately affected by rising rental costs.
Rent control is a public health intervention, and public health professionals play a key role in advancing it, according to Will Dominie, housing justice director at Health in Partnership, which recently released a new APHA-supported issue report on the health benefits of rent control.
“When we have stable, affordable housing, we live longer, do better and get sick less,” Dominie said. The health of the nation.
When housing is unaffordable, Americans are often forced to make difficult trade-offs, such as cutting back on nutritious foods or skipping necessary medications, he said. Housing instability is linked to worse health outcomes, including increased stress; chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and hypertension; mental health challenges; and even premature death.
Eviction judgments (formal court orders that give the landlord the legal right to regain possession of the home) are associated with a 40% increase in deaths, according to a 2023 study published in Social Sciences and Medicine.
In contrast, stable housing is associated with healthier blood pressure, lower rates of depression and anxiety, fewer emergency room visits, better birth outcomes, and better behavioral and academic outcomes for children.
But finding affordable housing is increasingly difficult. The United States has a shortage of 7 million affordable housing units for nearly 11 million low-income renters, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The shortage leaves only 35 affordable and available homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households.
In 2019, Oregon became the first state to adopt a statewide rent control law, capping annual rent increases for most units at 7% plus inflation. Shortly after, California adopted an annual cap on rent increases and Washington became the third state to adopt rent caps in 2025.
“People across the state have been crying out for help, people who can’t afford another rent increase and who could be on the brink of homelessness,” Washington Senator Yasmin Trudeau said in a news release. “That’s how we really put people first.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of communities across the country have adopted rent control policies, from Montgomery County, Maryland, to Los Angeles. Other municipalities, such as Providence, Rhode Island, are currently considering similar measures.
However, in 34 states, rent control preemption laws prevent communities from implementing rent stabilization and rent control policies by limiting the authority of cities and counties. The laws have also been used to stop public health initiatives such as paid sick leave ordinances, restrict local firearms regulations, and roll back anti-discrimination protections.
According to Health in Partnership, framing housing as a health issue is one of the most persuasive ways to promote rent control and housing justice. Public health advocates can participate through policy development and evaluation and through education and outreach to state and local policymakers.
For more information on “The Health Benefits of Rent Control: A Policy Brief for Public Health Professionals,” visit www.healthinpartnership.org.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
