This past June the New York City legislature agreed on a package of tenant protections and rent regulations that are the biggest change in tenant law in decades.
Some of the changes in the new law are:
Repeal of provisions that remove units from rent stabilization when rent crosses a high threshold or when the unit becomes vacant or if the tenant’s income is $200,000 or higher in the preceding 2 years.
The elimination of the “vacancy bonus” provision that allows a property owner to raise rents as much as 20% each time a unit becomes vacant.
Tenants in rent regulated apartments would see an end to big rent increases under the new legislation. The Rent Guidelines Board will continue to determine yearly increases on rent stabilized units.
Security deposits are now limited to one month’s rent.
Unlawful evictions are subject to a fine up to $10,000.
If a tenant has been evicted, judges are now permitted to postpone the eviction for up to one year.
Mayor Bill Di Blasio calls the new law “a remarkable achievement that will halt displacement, harassment and unjust evictions”.
Senate Majority leader Andrea-Stewart Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie touted the new law as “the strongest tenant protections in history”.
New York City landlords have a different take on the new law. According to Joseph Strassburg, President of the Rent Stabilization Association which represents 25,000 landlords, “buildings will fall into disrepair, owners will not have the funds to make necessary repairs to their aging buildings and thousands of local jobs will be lost”.
From a Real Estate brokerage point of view, according to MNS CEO Andrew Barrocas, “the new rules will discourage investment in NYC rental buildings, many of which are more than a century old”.
Some experts predict that the NY housing market overall could be depressed because the resale market for rent regulated apartments would lose value as a result of the changes.
If you are interested in selling your property or you know someone who is planning to sell their Brooklyn or New York property, whether a single family residential property, an apartment building, a commercial property, mixed use, multi family, coop or condo, vacant land or a development opportunity, call us. You will be very happy that you did.
We always bring our clients the top market price for their property and provide exceptional personalized service from initial consultation to closing.
