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22April 2012 www.TheRealDeal.com
TheBulleTinBoard
Rent regulation in the spotlightCompiled by Russell Steinberg
We the peopleThe fate ofrent regulation in NYC could be hanging
in the balance. Upper
West Side landlords
James and Jeanne Har-
mon filed a lawsuit
arguing that the U.S.
Supreme Court should
strike it down as un-
constitutional. The
court could decide as
early as April 16 whether
it will hear the case.
Nationwide impact?The high courthasnt considered the
constitutionality of rent-stabili-zation laws since the Pennsylvania
Coal Co. v. Mahon case of 1922. If it
hears the Harmon case and rules
in the landlords favor, the deci-
sion could ev entually lead to the
elimination of rent regula-
tion. (Commercial Ob-
server)
Harmon historySome 2.5 million people in NYC live inrent-regulated housing. A rent-stabi-
lized tenant who lives in theHarmons
brownstone at 32 West 76th Street pays
only$951.22 a month for her apart-
ment, while the market-rate unit next
door rents for$2,650, according to
court documents.
A housing emergency Rent regulation began with the
Emergency Rent Laws of 1920, when
NYC Mayor John Hylan traveled to
Albany, urging the
adopt ion of rent
b i l l s to address
a severe hous ing
shortage. Then in
1943 , rents were
frozen across NYC.
Rent regulation has existed
in some form ever since.
(NYC Rent Guidelin es Board)
Gradual increaseIn 1969, NYC mayor John Lindsay enacted the Rent
Stabilization Law, which created the Rent Guidelines
Board and charged it with establishi ng guideli nes for
rent increases. In 2011, the board authorized a3.75
percent increase for one-year lease renewals,
and a7.25 percent increase for two-year leases.
(NYC Rent Guidelin es Board)
Leaving the programIn 2010, around 17,000 city apartments
left rent stabilization. One reason
is income deregulation, which let
apartments become destabilized when
the rent rises above $2,500 per month,
or household income rises above $200,000
annually. Also in 2010, about 12,000
units became rent stabilized, mainly
because landlordshoped to receive tax
benefits.
Dollars and centsAccording to the Harmonspetition, NYC landlords
lose an estimated $2.6
billion annually due to
rent regulation, which
costs the city around
$283 million in lost
property taxes.
John Lindsay32 West 76th Street
Supreme Court building
John Hylan