eh, often you get what you pay for in NYC. i find rent stabilized apartments are often in 'noisy parts' of the building - if you're partially deaf, great. i've had two, in manhattan - one was good, one was not. the good one, while below market value, was still fairly expensive. (the iconic dream of a large pre-war cheap stabilized city apt is pretty much all fantasy.) as for the truly lower budget / income citizens, there are other places to be in the world besides NYC . NYC being one of the world's most expensive cities, your quality of life here is most likely never going to be fantastic. despite what is or isnt fair, or best intentions from the government, no one is owed a seat at the NYC table, grow up and face your reality.
Don't be too friendly with your broker. There are a lot of unsavory cheaters. When I initially signed my lease for my Queens rent stabilized apartment, I was required to pay the broker one month's rent as his commission. A few weeks later I got a letter stating that my rent would actually be lower than what I had signed up for. Great news, right! But I never got back the $50 or so that the broker overcharged me as his commission, which should have been limited to one month's rent at the correct rent amount. I believe this was a deliberate scam by the broker to inflate his commission, and that he probably did this repeatedly on every apartment he rented. I would love it if the NY Times investigated these fraudulent broker practices.
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Finding a rent stabilized apartment in Queens is very easy. Moreover, the rents for such apartments in Queens are not vastly different from market rates. The real deals are those who have rent CONTROLLED apartments. They are paying substantially below market value, even in the outer boroughs.
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Finding a rent stabilized apartment in Queens may be easy, but then, that all depends on what part of Queens you're talking about...So folks, forget about Long Island City and Astoria.
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True. The "hot" gentrified neighborhoods of Queens have a lot less inventory than Rego Park, which has loads of available rent stabilized apartments.
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Thank you, Jonathan for this informative unraveling of what was always a real estate mystery, even to this native New Yorker. And thank you to all of the Commenters- especially Ben- for their informed feedback and detailed explanations.
As for Freddie's question regarding the always-witty "Hair Forecast", I second the thought and look forward to the day when Jonathan and Alexandra (Levine) will (certainly) be awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
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Butterfield, that’s interesting. And it looks like readers can nominate journalists.
Item #5 here: http://www.pulitzer.org/page/2017-plan-award
seems to describe this column. “For a distinguished example of reporting on significant issues of local concern, demonstrating originality and community expertise.”
The actual Times seems limited to 3 entries submitted by them in each category, so the company has to make choices that give its best shot. But at this link, it says readers can submit, and I’ve got to assume the paper doesn’t lose one of its three if readers submit
http://www.pulitzer.org/page/2018-journalism-submission-guidelines-requi...
“Any person may submit material to the Pulitzer Prize competition, whether an editor of a news organization, an individual journalist or a reader.” then later:
“Q: What belongs in Local Reporting? A: Robust reporting on significant city, regional or state issues, demonstrating original thinking, resourcefulness and a grasp of a community's makeup, problems and concerns. Originality can mean a fresh approach to a familiar issue or exploration of an unusual issue or concern.”
I guess it’s based on a calendar year, so no rush, looks like next deadline is January 2019. But maybe a guide could be picking 3 or 4 columns out of the days that sparked wide-ranging discussion? That would exemplify “a grasp of a community's makeup, problems and concerns” – maybe?
Or do entries by readers/fans not get taken seriously?
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READ 'EM & THINK
Poetry in Motion
Once described ballet.
Now it's an invitation
To verse on the subway.
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Now that the NYT knows about rent-stabilized apartments, can we expect some journalism analyzing the difference between "rent-stabilized" and "affordable" as defined by the de Blasio administration?
Waiting
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So there's no means test to qualify for a rent controlled apartment? If they're not set aside for low income renters what's the point?
Rent CONTROLLED apartments are fairly rare. You have to have been in continuous residence in your unit since before 1974. There are only a few tens of thousands of such units left.
The original purpose of the current system of rent STABILIZATION was put in place to prevent landlord abuse of tenants. When the law passed in 1971 it applied equally to ALL RENTALS. It wasn't designed as a way to house the poor, but rather to prevent forcing renters to live under a condition of constant serfdom, uprooting and disrupting their lives at the drop of a hat at the end of a lease period.
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@JimmyMac: "means testing to qualify for a rent controlled apartment"?
You're definitely on the far side of the Moon if you're asking this question.
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L, you got that right. Sort of happy about it, too.
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Apartments renting for above $2733.75 are not necessarily de regulated. Many apartments in NYC have been illegally de-stabilized. Tenants should obtain the apartment rent registration history from the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, see if the building is receiving a tax abatement, and consult a lawyer specializing in tenants rights.
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It’s contingent on BOTH the rent at or above that amount and the lease holder making above 250,000.00-ish in income. Tax returns and other financial statements have to be submitted on request basis for renewal. But yes, always speak with a lawyer.
There are hundreds of thousands of previously rent-regulated units which have been removed from rent stabilization unlawfully by unscrupulous landlords. If you obtain a list of the buildings subject to rent stabilization from the NYSHCR website you can use that to look for units listed at above $2700 on streeteasy and then look at BISweb's "jobs" section to see if any construction permits were ever filed. There is a very specific formula dictating how much landlords can raise the rent based on apartment improvements, and they frequently run roughshod over this.
Once in a "market-rate" unit that was deregulated unlawfully you can request that unit's rental history from 1984 - 2018 using the REC-1 "request for records access" from DHCR. In a couple of weeks you will get a registry of every rent-stabilized tenant who ever lived in your unit, and how much they were paying. Comparing this to the permits can tell you if you likely have a legal case against your new landlord to get your apartment re-regulated.
Another thing this article fails to mention is the J-51 tax abatement program. Any building which has taken a J-51 _must_ by law make all of its apartments rent-stabilized, even if they had previously been deregulated. Google "J-51 lookup" and you can look up by block and lot which buildings are receiving this benefit.
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Official J-51 website -
http://www1.nyc.gov/site/finance/benefits/benefits-j51.page
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My sister and I somehow stumbled into a rent-stabilized apartment in Bay Ridge in 2014. It would take a miracle and a lot of convincing to get us to move out anytime soon.
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Just FYI that keyword searching for "rent stabilized" does not necessarily work. Brokers and owners are interested in high turnover, so they may not promote that a unit is rent stabilized. A friend got a unit where the broker never uttered the word, and she did not know that it was rent stabilized until she had to sign a bunch of papers.
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Another reminder—as if it were needed—that rent stabilization has long since turned into a pure lottery for the fortunate, no longer a program for the unfortunate.
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For the record, rent stabilization was never intended as a program for the unfortunate. When the law passed in 1971 it applied to ALL RENTAL UNITS equally. The original purpose of the law was purely to prevent landlord predation.
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There is a source of cheap apartments in NYC where rent is below 2k. The commute from them to inner manhattan is ~40 min by subway and the lines are relatively reliable. There is a variety of entertainment options and vibrant nightlife. Sounds good huh? The only issue is that the apartments are in Harlem. Yup, it’s only a little dangerous, and the smell of weed is pervasive, but if burgeoning scientists are living there out of necessity so can you!
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I find this comment insulting and unforgivably passé.
Do you think you're being funny by perpetuating an old, tired stereotype?
I don't know what part of Harlem you're living in, but my Harlem neighborhood is ranked among the safest in NYC and the last time I smelled pot here was... hmmm... not once in the 8 years I've lived here.
If you're THAT unhappy here, please move and let someone who will appreciate the neighborhood and all it has to offer (good food, not all of it "soul"; friendly neighbors, history, beautiful housing stock, etc...) move in.
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Max,
Thanks. What a dog whistle comment you responded to.
I was in Harlem just this weekend. I walked through Morningside Park with a white friend (I'm African American) and was explaining how much it has changed. My grandparents lived across the street from the Park, but as a child I was never allowed to enter it alone because it was so dangerous. My only issue with the current gentrification of Harlem is that many of the black people who've lived there for generations aren't benefiting. Otherwise, it's lovely to see an historic neighborhood flourishing.
I smelled no pot that day, but I've smelled it from South Ferry to Inwood.
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Dude, Harlem has been a white neighborhood for quite a while now.
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Great article. Please note that HCR will only provide information about an apartment's rent regulated status to its existing tenant.
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Congrats to the Times!! Well deserved.
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Totally agree.
But the Hair Forecast was not even a finalist? (Did someone forget to submit it for consideration?)
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“Schmooze everyone… Talk to doormen, longtime neighborhood residents, and friends and co-workers who live in rent-stabilized apartments”
tune of “Edelweiss”
Stabilized, stabilized.
Every day you’re perusing.
Nothing nice? Our advice:
Try some in-person schmoozing.
Get out and go
Where they’re in the know.
It’s a slow endeavor.
Stabilized, stabilized -
Rent is low now forever.
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Most of these rent stabilized apartments exist in already converted co-op or condo buildings. These apartments are senior occupied and owned by the sponsor or another real estate investor. Once the tenant moves out most likely dies, the apartment is sold not rented.
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Articles like this make me happy that I own my home. As a property owner I somewhat sympathize with landlords but NYC tenants have to put up with a lot of aggravation.
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I grew up (1958 - 1973) in the rent controlled apartment on 73rd and West End Avenue that my mother grew up in (late 1930's on). I don't remember the rent, but I do know it was cheap even in those days.
In 1981 the building went coop. My parents apartment bought their apartment for $150K in cash.
They sold it for a whopping $650K in 1992 when they moved to SF.
Now it's worth around $3 million.
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Even harder to get is a rent controlled apt. There are a fraction left in NYC and are the holier grail. I think at last count app. 50,000.
The only way, as far as I know to get one is to find a single resident of one of these and marry them. Almost all of these renters are seniors since rent control was stopped in 1971.
Some of the rents are as low as $100 a month.
I know. I have several friends who have one.
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My aunt had a rent-controlled apartment in Elmhurst. She moved out in 1999 and I think she was only paying $250/month for a 2BR near the IND subway.
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Thank you for your reply NYC. I can easily top that. My 97 yr old neighbor died here in Greenpoint last yr. She was paying $97 dollars a month for a two bedroom.
I am sure there is somebody living in NYC that can top that.
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This is actually a common misnomer. At this point, rent controlled apartments are often more expensive than rent stabilized apartments, because rent controlled units are not subject to the increases set by the city's Rent Guidelines Board. Those increases haven't gone above 5% a year for decades, but rent controlled apartments frequently increase by 7.5% a year, and increases related to major capital improvements (MCI's) are also levied more heavily on controlled units.
The reason that most rent controlled tenants pay low rents is because of a program called the "Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption" program (SCRIE). Tenants in rent controlled or stabilized units are eligible if they are over the age of 62 and make less than $45,000/year. If you apply, qualify, and are awarded SCRIE, then your rent is subsidized by the state (the only real case of rental subsidies involved in the system) and your out-of-pocket costs are very low and are based on your income.
In most of those rent controlled apartments where the tenant is paying $100 the "legal" rent is typically much, much higher.
5
I had a rent stabilized apartment that recently was converted to a co-op. That designation was worthless because the stabilized rate was nearly $1,000 more than the "preferential" market rate I was paying. So, when my lease was up I had the right to continuing living there, but at an extremely inflated rate. Luckily, the owner offered a buy out, mainly because of the rent controlled tenets, and had to offer to the entire building by law.
So how many of the 44% stabilized apartments are functionally worthless, with stabilized rates well above market value?
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Every tenant should do a "Rent History Inquiry" with the NY State DHCR the day after they sign a lease in NYC, in any building with six or more apartments. Any building in New York with six or more apartments falls under the rent stabilization code and entitles you to knowing the rental history, No lawyers needed, this is your legal right.So many sleazy landlords have illegally jacked up the rents on their rent stabilized apartments knowing that most new tenants will be too scared and/or uninformed to pursue finding out what the real legal rent should be. If it turns out that you are being overcharged, with a rental history in hand you can demand a rent reduction and if the landlord is difficult about it they can wind up paying triple damages. Especially now in New York we need to fight to keep our rights and live in a decent way without paying these outrageous prices. Landlords are always crying poverty, which I really find hard to believe. If they're honestly so distressed financially let's have full disclosure of all financial holdings, income etc. and make an honest assessment of what they need to pay their bills. It's time to start differentiating between what landlords want versus what they need.
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Agreed Michael, it is amazing how many young people moving to NYC do not do this. However, be prepared for a possible long court fight along with making instant enemies with your landlord.
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A "rent history inquiry" is crucial, because some fraction of landlords routinely fudge legal rents into illegal rents. Landlords do this knowing that if no one challenges the illegal rent then the illegal rent *becomes* the legal rent four years and one day later.
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In regards to the link above, do the comments now accept HTML?
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Just for the record. It's not about how to find a Rent-Stabilized apartment in New York City -- it's about how to KEEP a Rent-Stabilized apartment in New York City.
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Agreed, if you have one or get one look out for harassment. The article does not mention this.
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18 years and counting .... i’ll possibly move out feet first! I’ve even done my own painting and upgrades.
Affordable rent great Brooklyn area street parking near train shopping 15 min walk to Prospect Park while enjoying manicured lawns & gardens restaurants / bars = yeah, not moving!
Yes everyone, pay your rent on a timely manner, preferably 2 months ahead. Be a good, clean & respectful neighbor / renter.
Respect Lease Rules. ( do not airBnb ever that extra room - sure way of being evicted )
Get to know your neighbors. At my place we all have each other’s tel #’s & look out for packages.
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Windsor Terrace?
2
28 years and counting. I've done all my own renovations and upgrades too, and I have no problem with that. If I pro-rate the what I've spent on renovations I'm still way ahead, plus the apartment is exactly how I want it, which is good because if I don't get bought out, I'll be leaving on a gurney! I used to know everyone in my building but it was sold, gut renovated and now there's only two of us left with rent-stabilized apartments. The rents for the renovated apartments are approx 3-4 times what I'm paying and most of the tenants are young and move on and out after a year. It's the story of my neighborhood :-(
5
That's nice you're so fortunate. Want share your location?
My dream. Plus I'm always friendly to doormen!
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