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The New York State Legislature finished its last official session of 2016 without renewing or replacing the state’s 421-a program. The 421-a program expired in January. Originally, it launched during the fiscal crisis of the 1970s to encourage new residential construction by offering developers tax breaks. Owners who receive the 421-a tax benefits are supposed to submit all the units in their properties to rent stabilization for the duration of their tax breaks, w...
The New York State Senate recently passed a bill that would make it illegal to advertise short-term rentals (less than 30 days) for entire homes on Airbnb after the State Assembly passed the bill through to the State Senate. The next step in the process is for Governor Andrew Cuomo to either sign or veto it.
The City Council recently introduced a set of bills aimed at limiting the practice of buying rent-stabilized units at prices that advocates say make sense only if some tenants are ultimately replaced by higher-paying ones. The council members are hoping that by targeting and identifying real estate professionals involved in these “predatory equity” transactions the attention may stem aggressive tactics used to push out rent-stabilized tenants.
Recently, Steven Croman, a landlord whose companies had bought up more than 140 Manhattan apartment buildings, turned himself in to the authorities after he was charged with 20 felonies, including grand larceny, criminal tax fraud, falsifying business records, and a scheme to defraud, relating to accusations he inflated his rental income to secure more than $45 million in bank loans. He faces up to 25 years in prison. Croman pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges in...
The New York City Water Board recently unanimously approved a 2.1 percent increase in the city’s water and sewer rates. The increase, the lowest in 16 years, is the third consecutive rate rise since Mayor de Blasio took office in 2014. The new rate takes effect July 1.
On May 3, the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) voted on preliminary increases for next year for the city’s rent-stabilized apartments. The nine-member board voted 5-4 in favor of increases of 0 percent to 2 percent on one-year leases and 0.5 percent to 3.5 percent on two-year leases signed between Oct. 1, 2016, and Sept. 30, 2017.
The Rent Stabilization Association recently launched an ad campaign against Mayor Bill de Blasio’s housing policies, arguing that the squeeze on their profits is putting jobs in danger. The ads feature actors portraying maintenance workers and small business owners who complain about work drying up because landlords can’t afford property repairs.
City Councilmembers and the de Blasio administration are set to discuss a compromise version of a bill that would require property owners seeking building permits to first demonstrate that they had not harassed their tenants. The proposed law, Intro 152-A, sponsored by Brooklyn Councilmember Brad Lander, was one of four tenant-protection bills recently discussed at a recent hearing.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman recently announced the initial financing for nearly 600 new low-income apartments across the city, paid for by $10 million in settlements with property owners who violated the law. The new homes will serve formerly homeless New Yorkers, low-income families, veterans, seniors, and people with mental health and substance abuse challenges.
Gov. Cuomo recently announced the first results of an ongoing investigation that uncovered the illegal removal of central heating systems in over two dozen rent-regulated buildings in New York City, impacting 145 tenants. The owners of these buildings, who are required by law to pay for and provide heat and hot water to rent-regulated tenants, had replaced their central heating systems with individual apartment meters, forcing tenants to pay for their own heat.
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