Rent regulation in New York

rdf:langString Rent regulation in New York

rdf:langString Rent regulation in New York is a means of limiting the amount of rent charged on dwellings. Rent control and rent stabilization are two programs used in parts of New York state (and other jurisdictions). In addition to controlling rent, the system also prescribes rights and obligations for tenants and landlords. Each city in the state chooses whether to participate. As of 2007, 51 municipalities participated in the program, including Albany, Buffalo and New York City, where over one million apartments are regulated. Other rent-controlled municipalities include Nassau, Westchester, Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Erie counties. In New York City, rent stabilization applies to all apartments except for certain classes of housing accommodations for so long as they uphold the status that gives them the exemption. Rent controlled apartments and rent stabilized apartments are "seen as the scourge of landlords and the salvation of struggling New Yorkers — are at the center of a housing crisis that has swelled the ranks of the homeless and threatens to squeeze all but the affluent from ever-wider swaths of the city. But even as Mayor Bill de Blasio has made adding more affordable housing a signature pledge of his administration, the system that protects the city’s roughly one million regulated apartments is profoundly broken," city and state lawmakers began "gutting the rent laws in 1993, the city has lost over 152,000 regulated apartments because landlords have pushed the rent too high. At least 130,000 more have disappeared because of co-op and condo conversions, expiring tax breaks and other factors. And while government officials say the losses have slowed, even regulated apartments are becoming increasingly unaffordable." Landlords take advantage of the housing court, pushing out rent regulated tenants and pushing apartments into the free market, according to a 2018 NY Times investigation. In addition, many landlords deliberately keep their rent regulated units vacant, thus reducing the supply of available rent regulated units. As of 2022, there are over 40,000 vacant rent regulated units in New York City.