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Rent wars

By Kim Velsey 5/01 1:26pm

Rent wars

Bad news Jimmy. The rent is going up again!

The Rent Is Too Damn High, But It’s About to Get a Whole Lot Higher

A rent stabilized apartment is often spoken of as a kind of golden ticket in New York, the rare real estate find that will enable its lucky denizen to stay in a neighborhood, a borough, and increasingly, a city where housing is increasingly a luxury commodity. A rent stabilized apartment is not only a renter’s insurance against being priced out of their current place, but a magical amulet against a future move to Hoboken or Jersey City.

Not that rent-stabilized apartments are particularly cheap, only cheaper. Nor does stabilization mean that tenants are protected from hefty rent increases, only that those rent increases will be determined by the Rent Guidelines Board, rather than their landlords. And this year, the increase looks likely to be considerable: between 3.25 and 6.25 percent for a one-year lease and 5 and 9 percent for two year leases, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Read More

By Kim Velsey 5/07/12 12:57pm

Rent wars

Coming on the market soon? (Google maps)

After Supreme Court Declines To Hear Case, Harmons Now Considering Selling Townhouse

James D. Harmon Jr. may have taken his battle against rent control as far as it could legally go, but that doesn’t mean that the owner of the beautiful Upper West Side brownstone has abandoned the fight.

Mr. Harmon is now considering the only sure way to escape the system he despises: selling his house, the New York Post reports.

Mr. Harmon, who grew up in the brownstone and lives in an apartment there with his wife Jeanne, has spent years waging a legal campaign against his three rent-regulated tenants (he also has three market-rate tenants), who pay about $1,000 a month and  have lived in the building since the 1970s, when they signed leases with Mr. Harmon’s grandfather. Read More

By Kim Velsey 5/02/12 10:35am

Rent wars

Almost as good entertainment as the Rent Guidelines Board (_rockinfree, flickr)

Renters Outraged: RGB Votes To Raise Rents Again

Surprise! The rent is going up again next year.

In a move that surprised no one, the Rent Guidelines Board cast a preliminary vote to allow rent increases between 1.75 and 4 percent for one-year leases and 3.5 to 6.75 percent for two-year leases, reports The New York Times.

The ranges will be narrowed to a single percent increase when the board takes its final vote on June 21. Last year the board approved a 3.75 percent increase for a one-year lease and a 7.25 percent increase for a two-year lease. Read More

By Kim Velsey 4/23/12 4:13pm

Rent wars

The house that Harmon built... but can't call his own? (Google Maps)

Renters Relieved! Life Returns to Normal After Supreme Court Turns Down Harmon Case

Today marks a day of rejoicing for residents living in one of the city’s many rent-regulated apartments. Break out the Andre!

The Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge to rent control brought by former federal prosecutor James D. Harmon Jr., the owner of a five-story townhouse on West 76th Street. Mr. Harmon, who grew up in the brownstone and now lives there with his wife Jeanne, inherited the building and its three rent-controlled tenants from his grandfather. The building also has three market-rate tenants.

In a city of renters, where the approximately 47% percent of the city’s 2.2 million rental units are subject to rent control or rent stabilization laws, the Harmon case touched New Yorkers’ notoriously hard-to-reach hearts. The case’s potential to radically upset New York City housing policy, as well as rent regulation laws across the country, left those on both sides of issue anxiously awaiting the court’s decision. Read More