Working Paper Series,
Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Real Estate and Construction Management & Banking and Finance

Abstract: The method of allocating below-market-rent apartments significantly influences the outcomes of rent control policies. While queuing systems may appear fairer than allocation by landlord preferences, they disadvantage younger households. An analysis of over 71,000 rental contracts mediated by Stockholm’s housing queue from 2003 to 2023 reveals two key trends. First, there has been a decline in young tenants as the average queue time increases. In the city center, the share of leases to tenants aged 18–30 dropped from 12.7% in 2003 to 4.4% in 2023, while leases to tenants aged 60+ increased from 4.9% to 22.2%. Second, younger tenants pay higher rents than older tenants. Because apartments with lower rents require longer queue times, older households benefit. A 30-year-old renting a two-room apartment in the city center is estimated to pay 29.2% more than a 60-year-old for a comparable unit in 2023. These findings show that queueing systems disproportionately benefit older households as rent controls become more severe.

Keywords: rent control; housing queues; housing policy; displacement

JEL-codes: D40; R21; R28; R31

Language: English

36 pages, First version: June 24, 2024. Revised: December 12, 2024. Earlier revisions: September 19, 2024, December 12, 2024.

Full text files

record.jsf?pid=diva2:1875952  Full text

resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-348385  Full text

Download statistics

• Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Real Estate and Construction Management & Banking and Finance
• Home page for this series

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Cecilia Hermansson ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

RePEc:hhs:kthrec:2024_006This page generated on 2024-12-12 12:12:59.