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Rent Ceiling in New York City

In: Business and Management

Submitted By stevenson6393
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Pages 5
Rent Ceiling in New York City

Living in Manhattan, New York, has always been a dream of mine. I imagined life in the fast lane, a city that never sleeps, and the hustle and bustle of life. I had no idea about the issues of rent stabilization and rent control and how those are considered ‘bad words’ when talking to individuals and/or families who are living in poverty without affordable housing. But not so fast. From a public policy, city government viewpoint, rent stabilization and rent control are a blessing for those who are benefiting from the perks. The entire notion of this housing ‘crisis’ in New York peaked my interest.
New York has two forms of rent regulation: rent control and rent stabilization. Both of these are mandated by the New York State government with the overall intention to prevent the average city-dweller from getting priced out of the rental market. While reading the article and other materials about this subject matter, it was apparent that this topic is both controversial and a source of debate.
Rent controlled apartments are those apartments in a building that were built before 1947 and have been occupied by the same family since 1971. These apartments can only be passed down within a family but more specific, to a family member living in the unit for two or more years before the existing tenant leaves or passes away. ‘Less than 2% of the apartments in NYC are rent controlled’ (Naked Apartments website, n.d.).
Rent stabilization has no set requirements for an apartment to qualify as rent stabilized but most of the buildings with 6 plus units built before 1947 qualify. Once an apartment is stabilized by the government, the landlord is only permitted to increase the rent by a small percentage annually. The rent was $2000 per month until 2011 when it went to $2500. Once the rent reaches this level, or the tenant earns more than $200,000

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