New York rent regulations for 2 million tenants to expire

As talks about rent stabilization dragged on past the long-awaited expiration date, tenants, Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio and many rank-and-file lawmakers slammed the slow pace as the latest example of dysfunction in Albany.

|
CBS New York
Time is running out for the more than 2 million tenants covered by New York City's rent laws while a deal to renew the regulations continues to elude New York state lawmakers.

A law affecting rents paid by 2 million New York City tenants was set to expire Monday as state lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on the extension of it before a midnight deadline.

As talks between legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo dragged on past the long-awaited expiration date, tenants, Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio and many rank-and-file lawmakers slammed the slow pace as the latest example of dysfunction in Albany.

"Do your jobs! You're playing with people's lives," said Esteban Giron, one of several New York City tenants who gathered outside Cuomo's Capitol office. The 36-year-old social media consultant said rent regulations have prevented his rent from going up by hundreds of dollars each month.

The rent regulations cover some 1 million rent-controlled and rent-stabilized units in and around New York City. The longstanding rules, which must be renewed in Albany periodically, dictate rent increases and eviction policies and are seen as a key protection for affordable housing in the nation's largest city.

The immediate impact of a lapse in the rules would likely be minor. Landlords of rent-regulated units must give notice to tenants about rent increases or evictions, and Cuomo vowed to go after landlords who exploit the law's expiration. The law expired when it came up for renewal four years ago before an extension passed a few days later.

"While the Legislature needs to act immediately, New York tenants should know that this state government will have zero tolerance for landlords that seek to exploit those who live in rent regulated units," Cuomo said in a statement Monday night, two hours before the law expired.

Still, the slow pace of the negotiations and the approaching deadline prompted a flurry of phone calls to the office of Sen. Adriano Espaillat, a Manhattan Democrat. Espaillat said the procrastination reflected poorly on the Legislature, which has been in session since January.

"This is also about competence and a functioning democracy," Espaillat said. "We had six months. We had a couple of years. And we're here at the 11th hour."

De Blasio said there had been an uptick in calls to the city's 311 information hotline from tenants asking about the expiration. He said the city was prepared to take steps against landlords who tell tenants their leases are no longer in effect because of the law's expiration.

"The hour of decision has come, and it is time for Albany to act," he said. "All Albany had to do was recognize that this deadline was coming — years in the making this deadline was coming — and by this deadline extend rent regulation and strengthen it."

The Assembly voted Monday to renew the law for 48 hours so negotiations on a compromise could continue. The Senate and the Assembly remain far apart on a deal. By evening, the Senate had not announced plans to consider the 48-hour extension passed by the Assembly.

The Assembly's Democratic majority passed a plan in May that would renew the rules for four years, restrict rent increases in vacant apartments and repeal a provision in the current law allowing some apartments to be deregulated when they become vacant.

The Republican-led Senate on Monday passed its preferred alternative, which would extend the rules for eight years and institute new income verification rules to ensure those living in rent-regulated apartments are eligible for the benefit.

Senate Republicans pointed to cases of tenants whose incomes exceed the eligibility requirements or who sublease rent-controlled and rent-stabilized units to turn profits.

"That is what this bill is targeted at, to stop those kinds of abuses," said Sen. Catharine Young, R-Olean, the chairwoman of the Senate housing committee.

The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn its 2015 session Wednesday. Lawmakers are also expected to take up bills to address campus sexual assault, a tax credit for private school tuition, the legalization of professional mixed martial arts and the renewal of a lucrative tax break for New York City residents.

Cuomo has promised to call the Legislature back into session if it adjourns before passing a deal on renewing the rent rules.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to  New York rent regulations for 2 million tenants to expire
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2015/0615/New-York-rent-regulations-for-2-million-tenants-to-expire
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe