Harassment or neglect? How market dynamics and rent control shape landlord behaviour in Los Angeles

Sean Angst, Jovanna Rosen, Gary Painter and Soledad De Gregorio
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Sean Angst: California State University Fullerton, USA
Jovanna Rosen: Rutgers University Camden, USA
Gary Painter: University of Cincinnati, USA
Soledad De Gregorio: Abt Global, USA

Urban Studies, 2025, vol. 62, issue 11, 2175-2201

Abstract: This paper examines whether and how housing market dynamics shape landlords’ profit-seeking behaviours, focusing on harassment and property neglect. Leveraging household survey data, we assess whether differences between market and contract rents, rent control and gentrification influence landlord behaviour. Findings reveal that one-quarter of respondents reported inadequate maintenance from landlords within the past two years, and more than one-fifth reported at least one form of harassment. However, the incidence of these issues varied across contexts. Tenants in rent-controlled buildings and gentrifying census tracts were 14.8 and 9.4 percentage points more likely than peers not in those situations to experience harassment, respectively. Moreover, rent-controlled tenants were more likely to experience illegal eviction practices while those in gentrifying tracts were more likely to experience threats and assault. In contrast, paying lower rents relative to market estimates alone was not associated with a greater likelihood of refusal to provide maintenance and a lower likelihood of harassment. These results suggest that landlords respond in illegal ways when frictions in the market make it difficult to simply increase rents in response to strengthening market conditions.

Keywords: gentrification; harassment; neglect; rent control; rent gap; 绅士化; 骚扰; 忽视; 租金管制; 租差 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:62:y:2025:i:11:p:2175-2201

DOI: 10.1177/00420980241311502

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