Question

Why do you think governments frequently attempt to control apartment rents but not house prices?

Answer 1

Under the system of rent control, the government tells the landlord how much they can charge as rent from the tenants. Under the system of rent control, rents are kept below the levels that will be observed in freely competitive markets.
The main reason why governments attempt to control the apartment rent and not the price of houses is that it is the low and middle income people who look for rented apartments as they cannot buy a home, while it is the rich people who have high purchasing power to buy a house