By Adam Pagnucco.
A new survey by the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) has found that an overwhelming majority of apartment firm CEOs say they have cut back investment in jurisdictions with rent control or are avoiding them entirely. This reinforces the nearly complete collapse of multifamily residential construction in MoCo since the county passed its rent control law in 2023.
98 apartment firm CEOs responded to NMHC’s market conditions survey during the period of January 6-20. Here is the distribution of answers to a question about jurisdictions with rent control laws.
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Question #5: Several jurisdictions have recently either imposed (or strengthened) rent control/limitation or are seriously considering doing so. We would like to know whether this has affected your investment or development decisions:
Answers
We do not operate in these markets and would not consider doing so because of the threat of rent control – 41%
We have cut back on investment or development in these markets – 35%
We have made no changes yet but are considering doing so in these markets – 15%
We do not plan any change in investment or development in these markets – 7%
We do not operate in these markets but would consider doing so despite the threat of rent control – 2%
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NMHC’s press release went into more detail about responses to this question.
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Even as apartment market conditions continue to ease nationwide—marked by slowing rent growth, rising vacancies and a pullback in deal activity—rent control remains a significant deterrent to apartment investment and development, according to a new survey by NMHC.
The survey found that 35% of respondents have cut back on investment or development in rent-regulated markets, 41% of respondents said they do not operate in rent-regulated markets and would not consider doing so because of the threat of rent control, and 15% said they have made no changes yet but are considering doing so in rent-controlled markets.
This pullback is occurring despite clear signs of market moderation, underscoring concerns that rent regulations such as rent control risk discouraging new housing supply precisely when easing conditions suggest market forces are already working to ease affordability concerns.
The January 2026 Quarterly Survey of Apartment Conditions, in which 98 CEOs and other senior executives of apartment-related firms participated, was conducted from January 6 – January 20, 2026. We also asked this question in January 2022, and in comparison, the 2026 findings suggest a growing pullback from regulated markets.
The share of respondents who said they have cut back on investment or development in rent controlled markets increased from 26% in January 2022 to 35% this round; the share who said who do not operate in these markets and would not consider doing so because of the threat of rent control also increased from 32% four years ago to 41% this round; while the share who said they have made no changes yet but are considering doing so in these markets remained at 15%.
This means that the total share of respondents who have altered their investment or development decisions—or are considering doing so—has increased from 73% of respondents in January 2022 to nearly all (91% of respondents) in this latest iteration.
Finally, just 7% of respondents this round said they do not plan any change in investment or development in markets affected by rent regulation (down from 23% last round), and 2% said they do not operate in these markets but would consider doing so despite the threat of rent control (down from 4% four years ago). These findings come as broader apartment market conditions continue to ease nationwide.
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Some rent control supporters including Council Members Will Jawando and Kristin Mink contend that rent control only temporarily suppresses development. According to the Frederick News-Post, Jawando made this claim at a discussion about rent control in Frederick:
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Jawando acknowledged that critics of rent stabilization measures say the regulations discourage new development, which can lead to less housing stock and higher rent.
“That is not completely true, but it’s not completely false either,” Jawando said.
He said that in the short term, as developers work to try to overturn or revoke rental stabilization legislation, they tend to build less in an area or not at all.
But over a longer period of time, things will stabilize, he said.
“People will get used to the law, and then they’ll operate within the system,” he said.
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Does Jawando have any evidence to support this claim? As for Mink, she once adamantly denied that rent control deters development and is now trying to rewrite history. In any event, apartment firm CEOs seem more determined than ever to avoid rent control jurisdictions. (Check out what this CEO said about our county last year.) The examples of MoCo, New York City and St. Paul give them many reasons to do so.
It’s becoming crystal clear that MoCo leaders now face a choice. They can keep the county’s rent control law in its current form and accept a permanent rental housing shortage. Or they can abandon it to let the market build more units, thereby giving tenants more choices and using increased supply to hold down rent growth.