[kspaans]

Yup, this is how "rent stabilization" works in Ontario, Canada. When a tenant has a lease, rent increases are capped to a rate set by the government. When a tenant leaves, there is "rent decontrol" and the landlord can charge whatever the market will bear for the next tenant. Similarly newly built units for rent get market rates. No one dictates what a landlord can charge, only how much they can increase rents for existing tenants.

Of course this does lead to shenanigans to get old tenants out, but it's not rent control in the sense that all rents are everywhere anytime are set by the government.