Stronger Rent Laws Now

STRONGER RENT LAWS NOW!

NYC is already facing a housing crisis.

Since 1994 300,000 rent stabilized homes have become destabilized, primarily through vacancy destabilization.

Raising the Destabilization Threshold would be a mistake, and make the housing crisis far worse than it already is.  We need to repeal vacancy destabilization altogether.

Rent is destabilized on a vacant apartment when rent reaches $2,000 for the apartment.

When this happens landlords can charge much higher rents.

Landlords can increase the rent on a vacant apartment by 20% plus 1/40^th of the value of any renovations and improvements they make.  Landlords will do anything to destabilize rent- it increases their profits after all. The make false claims to renovations because they are never actually required to show proof that they were done.

Raising the threshold for vacancy destabilization will only change the math for landlords- but would be ineffective at keeping housing affordable and would actually lead to higher rents for New Yorkers.

Vacancy destabilization is hard to enforce. No one knows the number of homes that have been decontrolled illegally. New tenants are rarely told if the apartment they are looking at to rent is stabilized. Since 2003 at least 73,000 stabilized apartments have not been ­reregistered and are no longer controlled. Though landlords are required to register stabilized apartments under the New York City Rent Stabilization Law, there is no real penalty for not registering.  Politicians call this “an honor system.”

Considering the total lack of enforcement having a destabilization threshold of $2,000- or raising it- simply does not matter. As long as destabilization is the law, landlords will do whatever it takes to take advantage.

OUR STATE OFFICIALS HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT OUR RIGHTS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

WE NEED A TOTAL REPEAL OF VACANCY DESTABILIZATION.

Professionals in the real estate industry

(landlords, brokers and insurance agents)

donated millions of dollars to candidates running for office.

2000- $2,058,423                    2006- $8,650,170

2002- $8,043,928                    2008- $3,511,650

2004- $3,883,416                    2010- $9,377,971

WE NEED TO TELL OUR REPRESENTATIVES THAT THEY WORK FOR US!