MAYOR DE BLASIO CALLS FOR STRONGER RENT LAWS

De Blasio: End vacancy decontrol, eliminate vacancy bonus, make improvement rent increases temporary instead of permanent

Affordable housing for more than two million New Yorkers at stake as rent laws come up for renewal on June 15

Mayor Bill de Blasio today called for stronger rent laws that will stem the loss of affordable apartments to deregulation. More than 35,000 affordable apartments have left rent regulation since it was last extended in 2011, putting enormous pressure on working families and pushing longtime tenants out of fast-gentrifying neighborhoods. Mayor de Blasio called for a slate of reforms to protect rent-stabilized apartments, including ending vacancy decontrol, eliminating the vacancy bonus and making improvement surcharges temporary.

“This is a vital priority for New York City. Our working families and our neighborhoods are depending on stronger rent laws. Rent is the number one expense for New Yorkers. Unless we change the status quo, tens of thousands of hardworking families will be pushed out of their homes. This has to be a city for everyone. It cannot just be a city of luxury apartments out of everyday New Yorkers’ reach,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“Preserving and strengthening New York’s rent laws is one of the Assembly Majority’s top priorities this year. We need to keep rents affordable and make sure that people are able to remain in their homes free of harassment so that our neighborhoods can grow and thrive. These are the same principles that Mayor de Blasio is fighting for and I am pleased to work with him in our effort to make New York’s rent laws as strong as possible,” said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.

New York City’s rent-stabilized apartments provide affordable homes for more than 1.4 million low-income tenants, and more than 700,000 moderate- and middle-income New Yorkers. Together, they make up the bedrock of New York City’s diverse neighborhoods. But this vital housing reservoir is fast drying up, as bad actors force tenants from their homes and a hot real estate market puts more and more pressure on rents. If nothing is done to strengthen rent laws before they expire on June 15, tens of thousands more apartments will be converted to market rents in the years ahead and entire neighborhoods could be rendered unaffordable.

The City’s proposed rent regulation reforms work together as a two-pronged strategy that stems the loss of units through the elimination of Vacancy Decontrol, and helps to keep the rents of those units affordable by ending the Vacancy Allowance and making the Individual Apartment Improvement and Major Capital Improvement increases temporary and not a permanent addition to tenants’ rent.

Reforms to Protect Rent-Stabilized Housing:

·         End High-Rent Vacancy Decontrol: The City is calling for the elimination of vacancy decontrol. Currently, a vacant apartment with a rent of $2,500 per month may be deregulated.

·         End the Vacancy Allowance: The City is calling for eliminating the 20 percent increase in monthly rent when tenants vacate an apartment. This allowance has created strong incentives for bad actors to pressure tenants out of their homes in the hopes of faster-rising rents.

·         Make Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI) and Major Capital Improvement (MCI) Increases Temporary: The City is calling for the current permanent rent increases for building-wide or individual apartments to be made temporary. Costs from increased services or improvements to individual apartments would be spread over 10 years, while building-wide or system improvements could be spread over 7 years. Long-term rent would be unaffected, and would reset after the fixed period.

The de Blasio administration is also ramping up protections for rent stabilized tenants, including free legal representation for tenants in up to 15 neighborhoods and is launching a new Tenant Harassment Prevention Task Force with State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to combat illegal practices that push tenants out of their apartments.

“Rent regulation is one of the City’s most important affordable housing programs and one of the best tools we have for fighting income inequality. It’s crucial that we stand with tenants by strengthening rent laws, and that state lawmakers do their part to stop the loss of affordable housing. We must all work together to protect working families from tenant harassment and strengthen the middle class,” said Public Advocate Letitia James.

“Mayor de Blasio has once again reaffirmed his commitment to renters in New York. As a Member of the Assembly, it is important to have as much support as possible as we will soon be debating these important issues. Ensuring that New Yorkers have access to an affordable place to live is a priority for me during this year’s legislative session and it is important to have the Mayor as an ally in this fight,” said Assembly Member Luis R. Sepulveda.