In NYC, can landlords still renovate vacant stabilized units and then charge free market rates? Or did that change with the rent laws?
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[{"id": "ff78ofn", "text": "No - luxury deregulation for units is no more.\n\nFor you reading on the HSTPA", "replies": [{"id": "ff79e2l", "text": "I don't mean luxury deregulation where someone's rent gradually increases past a threshold and the unit becomes deregulated, but when a tenant moves out and the unit is renovated and deregulated. They also can't do that either?", "replies": [{"id": "ff7avhy", "text": "Misread - but still the answer is no. The following relevant parts were modified in the HSTPA: 1) no more high rent deregulation - this also when rent passed the $2700 threshold was vacant  2) Apartment improvements are capped 3) Capital improvements are caped 4) No more vacancy increases. - these were how rents were spiked past the deregulation threshold.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ff7b5md", "text": "Best bet for getting units to free market under the new regime is to combine with another unit...", "replies": [{"id": "ff7pyaa", "text": "To what degree could you raise the rent in that case?", "replies": [{"id": "ff7rpvy", "text": "I believe you get a fair market value for that rent, but the unit becomes rent stabilized.\n\nJust curious, why the interest?", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ff7l8bx", "text": "Still stays regulated", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ff9mnq8", "text": "If the building is vacant you can deregulate it. otherwise as NYCCRE said only other option is to warehouse it and work on getting the unit next to it vacant to combine and reset the rent.", "replies": [{"id": "ffa8nfp", "text": "&gt;If the building is vacant you can deregulate it\n\nDoesn\u2019t that mean a lot of landlords will just wait for their buildings to become vacant? Not to mention which is more likely to happen now if owners aren\u2019t maintaining upkeep on their buildings?", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ffbex6v", "text": "That is exactly what is happening. As long term tenants start leaving the units they destroyed over the years due to not giving access to landlords owners can\u2019t afford to spend 50k+to renovate the units in exchange for a lousy 80 dollar increase in rent. So instead they are locking the door and waiting for the laws to change or until they can get another unit vacant to combine and reset the rent.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]