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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