Voucher Mandates Raise Rents Citywide

A new Metrosight study (Shoag & Romem) finds Source‑of‑Income laws that require landlords to accept housing vouchers raise overall rents by about $1,000 per year (~5%), with the burden falling heaviest on low‑income non‑voucher renters. The paper also estimates eviction restrictions add ~6% to rents and background‑screening bans add ~3%. Funding came from landlord groups, but the authors use difference‑in‑differences designs and robustness checks to argue the effects are causal. — It challenges the assumption that voucher acceptance mandates help renters overall by showing they can shift costs onto the poorest, reshaping debates on vouchers and tenant protections.