With rents rising annually at double-digit percentages and inflation cranking up, even as wages haven't kept pace, it's little wonder that people have started pushing for rent control. Call it unrealistic in the long run, as landlords who don't think they're getting an adequate return on their investment won't be improving properties and developers are less keen on building housing.

But the issue is an emotional one and people are frustrated. Since early fall, rent control talk and action has been taking place in many states across the country, including Florida, California, Minnesota, New York and Nevada.

"Despite the fact that rent growth in the Twin Cities rarely inches ahead of the national norm, voters in the city of St. Paul just approved one of the country's most drastic rent control measures, and those in the city of Minneapolis granted local government office holders the right to enact unspecified rent control measures," said a recent report from RealPage.