Not Your Landlord

"I know the rent is in arrears. The dog has not been fed in years. It's even worse than it appears. But it's alright." -- Garcia/Hunter

@cbernaut @SalazarSenate @NYCMayor People in politics either (1) don't understand the economics of real estate, or (2) pretend to not understand the economics of real estate.

@not_your_LL @SalazarSenate @NYCMayor Ok, either way that abatement is for all residents of the building, not just pied d'teres as the illustrious senator implies (if that even crossed her mind).

We've long fought to pass this tax so the ultra-rich who don't actually live in NYC, but own property here, would no longer avoid paying property taxes. Thank you @NYCMayor for helping make this happen. There's more to do toward equitably taxing the rich, but this is a good step

@cbernaut @SalazarSenate @NYCMayor If I remember correctly from back in the day, Silver added language specifically covering several proposed luxury developments in exchange for ... political support.

@cbernaut @SalazarSenate @NYCMayor Condos too. At least it was.

@cbernaut @SalazarSenate @NYCMayor A number of the high end buildings were built with 421a abatements courtesy of Sheldon Silver: nydailynews.com/2013/08/18/ass…

@SalazarSenate @NYCMayor How do they avoid paying property taxes now? How are they different than what full-time residents pay?

@Jefffeldman I suspect that there is more political risk on the "free market" apartments than the market is pricing. I expect that there soon will be calls to reduce CPI plus five in the Good Cause Eviction law.

NYC real estate is in two different worlds right now. At least in the eyes of lenders. There is rent stabilized assets. And then there is everything else. Free market real estate in NYC is of the best in the country. Good demand to lend on commercial assets as well.

@NYHammond Remember this: 6sqft.com/one57-received…

Don’t they already pay property taxes?

@cgaunerd Gotta be a member at Costco

Jesus fing Christ. There is a Costco walkable from this location too!

The government can regulate rents (to prevent gouging) but it cannot force rental at a loss (by building or by apartment is unclear) *and* stay in business. To not be at a loss, rents need to cover prudent operating expenses *and* a return on the capital value of the apartments (current construction cost adjusted for remaining useful life, maybe?). I think forced renewals, succession, etc., are constitutionally suspect and think that the courts will avoid deciding the issue if possible.

Same, I don’t know how all these rent regulations aren’t considered an unconstitutional “taking”. Especially when expense growth is outpacing legal rent growth.

@moseskagan @PacificLegal When the state takes away the common law right to self help (a very good idea), it obligates itself to run an efficient court system that enables owners to promptly recover their property.

@PacificLegal F yeah

LAWSUIT: Alameda County's eviction moratorium let tenants trash homes, stay without paying rent, and terrorize property owners. PLF is fighting for California homeowners trapped in living nightmares by their own government.

@jaymart222 I fear that more than half the legislature agrees with this nonsense.

This quote by the TenantBloc dosent only make 0 sense it’s a factual lie. …said Sumathy Kumar, director of New York State Tenant Bloc. “Landlords keep crying about operating costs even as our rent money lines their pockets or helps them finance another loan. Tenants are paying off landlord debts while we wait months for basic repairs…. Except the rent guidelines board doesn’t include debt service in any of their calculations and still says expenses have gone up 5.3% yoy. subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026/0…

@moseskagan @SMB_Attorney How many times have I seen NYC/NYS legislators, Legal Aid, and activists confuse NOI for profit? A zillion?

@SMB_Attorney Word Same w landlords (obviously our operating margins are higher, but they're still nowhere near 100%, which is what I think most people think they are)

Most Americans have no clue the difference b/t revenue and profit, the avg margin of a service business making $1M+ of revenue, how hard it is to deal with people and customers and how much risk is involved. They just see fat cats and villanize them. That's a problem.

@jaymart222 Most of the blame here lies, of course, with the owner who shouldn't have been in the rental business. But the City needed to and apparently did not enforce the 2020 Vacate Order (it was issued fairly early during the pandemic but that shouldn't make a difference).

Horrific. There’s a common Albany trope that laws should be written differently dependent on the size of the property owner. While small property owners absolutely need more resources to comply with laws to be sure the idea that through some magical altruism you get better service from a “mom and pop” simply because it’s small just isn’t factual. Immigrant communities like this are often the most vulnerable because they are desperate for cheaper housing in outer boroughs and the owners are more likely to cut corners to make ends meet to comply with costly mandates. If we do not address the costs of operating housing this becomes common.

@erik_engquist bringing the heat! It's a nice article that could have mentioned so many more things such as natural gas detectors and radiator inspections (when do those start again?). Also, I'd love to know if changing the lead level from 1.0 to 0.5 had any impact on lead poisonings (for the record, I'm not in favor of lead poisonings).

Requiring building owners to spend on things that save few lives, such as Local Laws 11, 152, 429 and 925, prevents them from making housing more affordable — which would save far more lives. therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/…

@SamEshaghoff @jaymart222 There is an almost irrational distribution of the benefits and burdens of the system.

@jaymart222 The current RS system is totally misaligned with public policy objectives

There are literally thousands of 3,4,5.6 old bedroom apartments in the rent stabilization system renting for as low as $200 per month per bed currently occupied by renters who inherited them who are single renters. Let me know when we actually care about righting housing size for families. Until then it will take the rest of our natural lives to build enough multi bedroom units to scale of need based on current building costs.

It seems that today more than ever before there are more buildings with regulated rents that don't cover prudent operating expenses plus a return on capital when market rents would. And the hardship provisions of the RS Code are unworkable. That is maybe the most significant threat to the constitutionality of NYC rent stabilization.

@ProfSchleich @VitalCityNYC Good read. There is often a black and white view that rent control is constitutional, but the reality is it is much more gray. At some point, a rent control scheme becomes unconstitutional and various state courts have struck down laws that have veered too far.

New Piece @VitalCityNYC! A guide to actual and potential constitutional challenges to NYC's rent stabilization system, vitalcitynyc.org/new-york-rent-…

@CTIronman That's a good one.

Back on the trail

@jaymart222 Sounds kind of ... deceptive.

No… they didnt. The average of high rent luxury deregulated units in Manhattan were averaged with low rent majority regulated buildings to produce a positive NOI number to legitimize a rent freeze.

And as I understand it, a third party storage company that has built storage lockers in an apartment building basement can charge tenants what the market will bear on renewal. But an owner who has built the same storage lockers must raise the storage charge for rent stabilized tenants in accordance with the rent guidelines (we are in this position).

@JLecara @KennyBurgosNY @TheRealSPONY We also have rent regulated parking spaces that by law cannot be rented for more than the RGB increase dating back to whenever the tenant first moved in! How about a $900 rental with an $80 parking spot. And with free utilities you can just leave the window open all winter too!

It’s going to be so funny when parking spaces sell for more than a regulated apartment

@AllIsFreeForMe @QueensCrapper @bananacoffeemi @ErebusValmar The City contracts with the Census Bureau to produce one every three years so there will be one next year.

@not_your_LL @QueensCrapper @bananacoffeemi @ErebusValmar If you have an updated one I’d be interested.

Rich suburbanites buy second homes in Manhattan so they have a place to overnight with the kids on weekends while the affordable housing problem is blamed on lack of development in Ozone Park. nytimes.com/interactive/20…

@AllIsFreeForMe @QueensCrapper @bananacoffeemi @ErebusValmar I imaging the number is still very low but note that stat is from February, 2024.

@QueensCrapper @bananacoffeemi @ErebusValmar Doesn’t make it a BS stat. I specifically said available units. It doesn’t count the 50k+ RS units warehoused bc legal rents don’t justify the required investment to keep them available. The idea of apts intentionally unavailable otherwise is a myth. So they’re subsidized?