NYC: Landlord group sues city over rent freeze
[{"id": "d539pl7", "text": "In NYC, there are three types of apartments, defined by the Department of Homes and Community Renewal.\n\n* Rent Controlled: generally *now* meant for the elderly, rents pretty much never rise and it is not uncommon to see apartments rent for $100 - $200 a month.  These are units that were covered under the post World War II housing emergency and never got out of the program.  Increasing rent requires producing a lot of proof of expenses and there is a ceiling on the rent that the DHCR will allow on a unit.  A tenant *used* to be able to will their apartment to a beneficiary and the Rent Control would follow to the new tenant.  They can still do it, but to enjoy Rent Control, they pretty much have to had to have lived in the unit since the 60's.  Landlords, however, generally get property tax benefits that help cover *some* of the lost revenue.\n* Rent Stabilized: generally meant for middle income families, these units' rent increases are dictated by the DHCR across the board.  They'll rule each year what the increase will be, taking into account many factors.\n* Fair Market: once a rent hits a certain level (currently $2,700 per month), the unit can enter this category where rent increases are not regulated by the DHCR.  This is subject to scrutiny, however, as a tenant can file with the DHCR to have the rent decreased once they occupy the unit.  It'll only be granted if the unit is paying substantially more than similar units.\n\nWhat [Mayor Wilhelm](http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/bill-de-blasio-change-politics-blog-entry-1.1696444) did was essentially push Rent Stabilized apartments into the Rent Controlled regime without reimbursing landlords.  Besides getting hit with the normal price inflation on expenses, landlords are also facing re-classification on their properties for property taxes.  Wilhelm claims that he keeps property tax rates flat, but by re-classifying properties into higher brackets, he gets to raise tax revenues.  This squeezes landlords of rent stabilized units who can't raise rents to cover the higher property taxes and don't enjoy any tax benefits they'd get with Rent Controlled units.\n\n\n\n", "replies": [{"id": "d53d9yj", "text": "Great analysis.  On top of that, he is incentivizing landlords to condo existing RS or RC properties, thus reducing the rent-able housing stock and pushing FM rents even higher!", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]