A "For Rent" sign outside an apartment building in New York, July 12.

Photo: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg News

Regarding your editorial “St. Paul Regrets Rent Control” (Oct. 4): I grew up just north of New York City. We lived in an apartment that was under rent control and paid $75 a month for a two-bedroom, one-bath place, about 900 square feet with an outside porch.

As costs went up in the 1950s, the owner got real slow in fixing anything—because we were still paying only $75. I remember my mother complaining about the screens on the windows that needed replacement. The apartment owner refused, so my mother took him to the rent-control board. It found in her favor and reduced the rent by 75 cents. Meanwhile, the owner’s taxes, insurance utilities and such—included in the $75—kept going up.

Rent control is a disastrous idea. It punishes someone for no benefit to another. Eventually, owners simply walk away from their properties. That’s what happened in several areas of New York. The city ended up with ghettos of its own creation. Smart cities avoid rent control.

Barry Brannigan

Casa Grande, Ariz.