New York City Can ’t Force Owners to Rent Their Property Forever

Thomas A. Berry andNicholas DeBenedettoNew York City has maintained a  system of rent control since the 1940s. Property owners in the City are subject to a thicket of regulations that affect their ability to rent and limit their right to exclude—arguably the most fundamental right in the “bundle” of property rights. The cornerstone of the City’s rent control regime is the Rent Stabilization Law (RSL) which was enacted in 1969 and has been amended on multiple occasions—most recently in June 2019. The RSL has been the subject of several lawsuits throughout the decades.There are approximately one million units under the purview of the RSL, comprising half of all New York City apartments. The RSL authorizes a  government board to set annual maximum rent increases for stabilized units. This board is required to consider tenants’ ability to pay as one factor in setting rents, alongside owners’ costs and housing affordability.The RSL severely limits property owners ’ rights to occupy, use, change the use of, and dispose of their property. The RSL requires owners to renew tenants’ leases in perpetuity with very few exceptions, and those exceptions are entirely within the tenants’ control. Additionally, these renewal rights may be passed on to any member o f a tenant’s family who has lived in the tenant’s apartment for two years.Once a  tenant occupies a stabilized unit, an owner may not retake possession of the apartment for personal use. Only upon a de...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs