Given the huge increases in rents, European cities, including in particular Paris, Berlin and Barcelona, have opted for a now classic but no less controversial solution: temporary measures to control rental prices. This debate is taking place at different scales, from national and local policymaking to theoretical reflections with pressures to increase controls growing across Western Europe. Our Deputy Director Prof. Christine Whitehead joined the EHNR Conference on “The fight for the right to housing. The pressures of globalisation and affordability in today’s cities” held in Barcelona by giving a presentation at the third plenary session on September 1st on “Putting Rent under Control: Models, Evidence and Debate”. Christine discussed the evolution of rent control mechanisms in Europe, tracing developments from their introduction in the early 20th century to the most recent concerns in response to the current cost to living crisis.