Balancing Rent Control and Property Rights

The article titled "Balancing Rent Control and Property Rights," published on Verfassungsblog on September 21, 2025, addresses the escalating housing crisis across major European cities. The authors, Allegra Grillo, Arnulfo Daniel Mateos Durán, and Alessio Sardo, engage in an in-depth discussion about the rise in housing prices and rents over recent years, particularly highlighting a 57.9% increase in house prices and a 27.8% rise in rents within the EU from 2010 to early 2025. This surge has resulted in a significant reduction of affordable housing options, exacerbated by market speculation, inflation, and the growth of short-term rental markets.

In response to the growing housing affordability crisis, European governments are reintroducing rent control measures aimed at stabilizing rental costs and protecting tenants from evictions. However, these measures prompt complex legal challenges regarding the extent to which states can regulate the rental market without violating landlords' property rights. The article emphasizes that while many citizens support rent control, these policies often face constitutional challenges in courts.

The legal debate surrounding rent control is centered on a fundamental conflict: protecting tenants' interests while respecting landlords' rights to utilize and profit from their properties. According to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), any property regulation must serve a legitimate public aim and maintain a fair balance between individual rights and public interest. The courts in various European nations are increasingly tasked with determining where this balance lies.

The article cites several landmark cases that illustrate how different countries approach the challenge of balancing rent control and property rights. In the 2006 case Hutten-Czapska v. Poland, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against overly restrictive rent regulations that effectively rendered a property economically useless, emphasizing that states must allow landlords to retain some economic use of their property.

In Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court has a well-established framework regarding rent control, ruling that property rights include the right to earn income from rental agreements. A significant case arose in 2020 when Berlin's Mietendeckel rent freeze was annulled not for violating property rights but because the city lacked the legislative authority to enforce such a measure.

In France, the Conseil constitutionnel takes a more deferential approach, generally upholding rent controls that aim to address housing shortages and emphasizing the legitimacy of facilitating access to housing. Conversely, Italy's Corte Costituzionale has fluctuated in its rulings, balancing tenant protection with the need to uphold property rights.

The overarching trend in these legal frameworks is that while European states can intervene in rental markets for social purposes, such interventions are constrained by strong constitutional protections of property rights. This dynamic complicates efforts to develop comprehensive rental policies that would ensure affordable housing for tenants across Europe. As a result, the ability to secure affordable housing continues to diminish, especially for vulnerable populations facing rising rental costs.

Overall, the article provides a comprehensive overview of the intricate relationship between rent control, property rights, and the ongoing housing crisis in Europe, highlighting the need for balanced and legally sound approaches to ensure sustainable housing solutions.