I suspect actual arson is rare. What seems more likely is that rent…

I suspect actual arson is rare. What seems more likely is that rent control laws significantly reduce landlord's incentives to do maintenance.

After all, why do maintenance when you can't raise rents to recover the cost? If you can make a lot more money if your current tenants leave, it's in your interest to let things fall apart, so they're more likely to leave for greener pastures.

Such deferred maintenance then leads to higher fire risk over time.

http://www.gq.com/story/san-francisco-is-burning?mbid=social_twitter