Not sure this should (or even constitutionally can) belong to the Federal government. It currently belongs to the states which sometimes allow their cities to set those rules. The market can be very unfair and destructive, but until it is, can be allowed to see if it works. What can be done at the federal level is limiting banks and other interstate financial insititutions from hording houses etc... in order to 'manage' the housing market and milk it. I am not a fan of our finance industry which uses money to make money, adding no real value and simply milking people of their money, preventing the people from building wealth.

Though I'm no economic expert I have been firmly convinced by the arguments against government price control from the likes of Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, and Frederick Bastiat, which are also deducible from Adam Smith's exposition of "the invisible hand" metaphor.

As a longtime landlord (two rental houses), I learned to include in my lease agreements that the tenants' rent would increase commensurate to the hikes in insurance and property taxes that I experienced as the owner. If the federal government "caps" rent each year while the local taxes and insurance rise unabated, this would be unfair to the landlords.

Many unintended consequences to rent control, including housing shortages. Let the market forces do their thing.