Pressured housing markets in many big cities in OECD countries mean that rent regulation is back on the political agenda.

In Germany, stronger rent regulations were introduced in 2015. In 2020, Berlin not only introduced a 5-year rent freeze but also a rent cap that allows for rent decreases on a large scale. In Ireland, housing policy and specifically continued rental regulation was one of the major topics in the electoral campaign. Highly political discussions about rental regulation are also taking place in the US, UK, Sweden, Spain and other countries.

Against this background, the International Journal of Housing Policy is planning a special issue on the new rental regulations and their impact on the housing market, the mortgage market and the real economy.

Researchers are cordially invited to submit a full paper that addresses rent regulation and associated topics.

Papers on specific countries, comparative analyses between countries, and papers looking at the economic and social impacts of regulation are particularly welcomed. Papers on rental market development, the interplay of rental markets and the macro-economy or papers that focus on political or sociological aspects of rental market regulation.

Submit an abstract by 31 August 2020

Send your 500-word abstract for consideration to Prof. Michael Voigtländer & Prof. Christine Whitehead at: voigtlaender@iwkoeln.de