Tuesday, September 29, 2026
A research project examining whether rent control policies actually help the households that need them most has earned UNT faculty a $30,000 grant from the Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA), the research arm of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The project on housing affordability and rent control is conducted by Dr. Hanchen Jiang (Principal Investigator) of UNT's College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences and Dr. Xun Bian (Co-Principal Investigator) of the G. Brint Ryan College of Business. Drawing on two decades of data from New York City, one of the nation's largest and most closely watched rent-controlled housing markets, the study examines a question at the center of housing policy debates nationwide: does rent control actually reach the households it's designed to protect?

“Housing affordability is an increasingly pressing challenge for households across the country. As a real estate and urban economist, I’m excited to collaborate with colleagues in the G. Brint Ryan College of Business, bringing our complementary perspectives to this important policy question and producing research that can inform communities and policymakers while creating enduring value for the public good” says Dr. Jiang.

Dr. Bian and Dr. Jiang have published extensively on rent control in leading academic journals, and this grant reflects industry recognition of just how relevant that research has become. As cities across the country continue to debate rent control as a tool for housing affordability, the RIHA's support signals that this isn't just an academic question, it's one shaping real policy decisions.

“I am excited about this opportunity and grateful for RIHA’s support of our research. It highlights how interdisciplinary collaboration at UNT can help address important questions with meaningful impact” said Dr. Bian.

The award also adds to a growing body of evidence pointing to UNT's rise as a research powerhouse in real estate and urban economics. In the 2026 Real Estate Academic Leadership (REAL) Rankings, published in the Journal of Real Estate Literature, UNT was ranked 19th in the world for real estate research productivity, a marker of the university's expanding influence in the field and its standing as a Carnegie R1 research institution.

Together, Dr. Bian and Dr. Jiang's work is a reminder of what UNT research is built to do: tackle the questions that matter most to the people living with the consequences of housing policy and put that evidence in the hands of the industry leaders shaping what comes next.