| legal theory: law and economics | |
The Debate Over the Distributive Impact of the Implied Warranty of Habitability |
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| Defenses of the Warranty | Criticisms of the Warranty |
| Step 1: It will force landlords to help poor tenants | Step 2: Rents will rise, the amount of housing will diminish and poor tenants will be left worse off |
| Step 3: The rent increase will be modest and tenants as a class will benefit | Step 4: The assumptions underlying step 3 are indefensible |
| Step 5: The implied warranty, applied selectively, will increase supply and reduce rents |