After saying he just wanted the rent laws renewed as is, Governor Cuomo recently wrote that he supports the repeal of vacancy decontrol (also known as vacancy deregulation)*. That is a result of tenant pressure! (Go, Tenants!) Now he's waffling again - saying it's too late to negotiate about the tax break for developers (421-A).
Further, having noted that vacancy decontrol is the main reason NYC is losing affordable apartments faster than it can build them, the Governor said that an alternative might be to just raise the rent amount at which a vacant apartment can be permanently de-regulated.
*Vacancy decontrol or deregulation (or destabilization) means that a landlord can take an EMPTY apartment out of regulation and raise the rent to whatever the market will bear, as long as the landlord claims the rent was at least $2500 (after improvements). So vacancy decontrol encourages landlords to try make those apartments empty by getting regulated tenants out. It also means that every time a regulated apartment becomes vacant, it immediately becomes unaffordable.
Encourage him to repeal vacancy decontrol and re-regulate apartments, and to cap MCI increases. He can do it!
Call him: Albany Phone: 518-474-8390, Fax: 518-474-1513, NYC Phone: 212-681-4580
And keep Assembly Speaker Heastie strong on the issue as well:
For more details on message to leave for Speaker Heastie and NYS Assembly members, please see:http://www.strongerrentlaws.
*Vacancy decontrol or deregulation (or destabilization) means that a landlord can take an EMPTY apartment out of regulation and raise the rent to whatever the market will bear, as long as the landlord claims the rent was at least $2500 (after improvements). So vacancy decontrol encourages landlords to try make those apartments empty by getting regulated tenants out. It also means that every time a regulated apartment becomes vacant, it immediately becomes unaffordable.
