Fueling the anti-owner sentiment is the list of tenant advocacy groups, which is lengthy and growing. ACORN, NYS Tenants and Neighbors Coalition, Met Council, New York Is Our Home and Urban Homesteading and Assistance Board are just a few of the dozens that exist. Property owners are regularly accused by these groups of using unfair tactics to evict regulated tenants. The point few ever make is that regulated tenants, who are legally in possession of their units, have absolutely nothing to worry about. The fact is that abuses of the system, in the form of non-primary residence occupancy and illegal subletting, is extensive. Prudent owners are simply seeking out these abusers.
I recall, as a young broker in the mid-1980s, conducting an inspection of a building in Washington Heights for an owner who was considering selling. Typical for the area, many of the apartments were three- and four-bedroom units. I was curious why there were padlocks on most of the bedroom doors in so many of the apartments I looked at. I came to learn that tenants were renting rooms to non-family members and, essentially, running mini hotels. While not legal, this was a fairly common practice in the area.
Twenty-five years later, the padlocks are still on many of those bedroom doors. Given the recently released undercover video showing the tactics used by some organizers, might they be instructing tenants how to game the system? They use terms like “predatory equity,” “shoddy lending practices” and “irresponsible ownership” to incite the ire of those who have the power to modify the regulations. All at the expense of and detriment to property owners, very few of whom resemble Mr. Potter.
Perhaps the Urbanomics study will change the way the public perceives the typical property owner. As Patrick Siconolfi, the executive director of CHIP, says, “The survey creates a distinct image of who multifamily property owners are and what their livelihood is all about. We are hopeful that this dispels many of the myths that have been created in the media and in the minds of tenants.”
editorial@observer.com
Robert Knakal is the chairman and founding partner of Massey Knakal Realty Services and has brokered the sale of more than 1,000 properties in his career.
