Commercial rent regulations limit the amount of rent that landlords can charge businesses for new or renewed leases and how much they can increase rent. These regulations provide stability for small businesses by protecting them from exorbitant rent hikes, unregulated fees, and other predatory leasing practices.

Commercial rent regulations are enacted through rent control or rent stabilization policies. Rent controlled units have fixed rental rates that cannot be raised, regardless of the market value, for a specific period of time. Currently, there are no rent control policies for commercial units in the United States. New York City and Berkeley, California had policies in place for several years before each state repealed the laws. Rental stabilization helps keep rental rates predictable by allowing property owners and managers to raise rates only by a small percentage from a base rate. In 2020, Seattle, Washington passed a commercial rent stabilization law, but it expired in 2022. Hawaii currently has a very limited commercial rent cap for gas stations under a bill passed in 1997.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been renewed interest in implementing rent stabilization ordinances for commercial units in several cities. A coalition of organizations in New York City, for example, has pushed the city council to pass a commercial rent stabilization bill. As of May 2025, the bill is pending re-introduction. A complementary bill in the state assembly (A5568) would establish a commercial rent guidelines board that would set annual rent adjustment levels for most commercial spaces in New York City.

In areas affected by climate disasters, rent regulation can keep small businesses from being displaced or closing. Short-term regulations such as rent freezes in the wake of wildfires or hurricanes can protect small businesses from eviction while they are recovering. Anti-price gouging regulations limit the amount landlords can raise rents on commercial space post-disaster, preventing them from charging exorbitant rates when demand is high and/or supply is low. Currently rent regulation tools have only been used to protect residential renters in disaster areas.