As rents continue to skyrocket across the country, state and local governments (and renters themselves) are scrambling for solutions. One of the most obvious -- and most controversial -- of those is rent control, which caps rent increases in an effort to keep cities more affordable for low- and middle-income people.

Advocates have long touted the policy as a way to keep rents from growing exponentially, and support for it appears to be growing: At least three states -- California, Illinois and Washington -- have introduced legislation that would allow cities to enact more rent controls. Opponents, on the other hand, claim that rent control leads to dilapidated units, deferred maintenance and an overall reduction of the rental housing stock.

So who’s right? According to a new Stanford University study, both of them -- partially.

Read More: http://www.governing.com/topics/urban/gov-landlords-rent-control-stanford.html