Building owners warned that Albany’s draconian 2019 rent-law changes meant to “protect” tenants would actually prove disastrous to them, as well as to landlords, and new data show how right they were.
The data comes in a study by two real-estate groups showing how the reforms made it financially impossible for owners of rent-stabilized units, especially smaller landlords, to make needed repairs and upgrades.
Instead, they’re forced to let those units sit vacant, creating “zombie apartments, ” even as New Yorkers are desperate to find decent places to live.
The study — the largest of its kind, covering 242,000 units — shows “small-portfolio” owners (basically mom-and-pops with 10 or less units) getting slammed: Among those with more than 75% of their apartments subject to rent stabilization, a full quarter are vacant.
Compare that to the city’s overall vacancy rate: a mere 1.4%.
Viral TikTok highlights the insanity of NYC rent regulations
More than 26,000 rent-stabilized units sat vacant last year, amid sky-high demand.