Re: Rent Control is for Real - Posted by Frank Chin
Posted by Frank Chin on March 07, 2002 at 14:18:33:
Hi JohnBoy:
In a word “YES”, they are not only lifetime in NYC, but multi lifetime counting the children that inherited the rights.
Under both Rent control, and rent stabilization, leases MUST be renewed at the approved rates. Depending on the age of the building, when a Rent control tenant leaves, it then falls under rent stabilization.
Under rent stabilziation, an owner can claim a unit only if he or a close relative want to live there. This apparently is the case in San Francisco as well, and small investor groups of lets say four would go buy a fourplex to oust all the rent controlled tenants, saying the owners want to occupy the units. In response to that, a proposal was submitted in the City Coucil to ban the practice.
I beleive the issue’s been tested in the courts since 1945. The only time I could recall of a success is when the Federal Government sued during the S&L crisis, when the RTC took over bankrupt S&L’s holding mortgages on properties with rent controlled tenants. There, the issue was that the Federal government was forced to subsidize these tenants. Private ligitgants had no luck as it appears that rent control is within the power of the government to impose. The issue was fought for years in Massachusetts till it was finally voted out, I beleive, by constitutional amendment.
In order not to confront the issue head on, and anger tenants, the New York State legislature adopted “luxury decontrol”, where apartments renting for over $2,000/month will be decontrolled. The idea is, over time, when inflation brings all rents to over $2,000/month, years from now, then rent control will disappear altogether.
Frank Chin