Today’s NY Value is inspired by my apartment and a conversation I had last night with my new roommate’s mother. Pulling inspiration from real life 24/SEVVVV (still tired)!
I discussed tenant protections a little bit in an earlier post, but this one is specifically about rent stabilized apartments versus rent controlled apartments versus free market apartments versus housing projects versus section 8. With me so far?
Rent stabilized apartments fall on the spectrum between rent control and free-market. I’ve laid out the exact differences in the “real estate” section, but essentially rent stabilized leases guarantee the possibility to renew (landlord can’t just sell the building and kick you out), and keep your rent from going up more than a limited percentage.
There are, however, a ton of misconceptions about these units. They are not necessarily much cheaper than market rate; in fact, a lot of rent stabilized units offer tenants a preferential rate that is lower than the legal rent, because legal is actually ABOVE market in those neighborhoods. They cannot be deregulated while a tenant is in place unless that tenant has made $200,000/yr for the previous two years AND the market rent is above the stabilization threshold (currently $2700). However, they are not only meant for low-income tenants; they are meant to protect the middle class. There are types of housing that are limited by income, but NOT rent stabilized units. There are also nearly a million of them in the city. ONE MILLION!
At least one of these buildings might be rent stabilized.
There is definitely still a lack of affordable apartments for rent in the city, largely because new construction is pretty much all luxury unless it’s Mitchell Llama (income-restricted and offered by lottery). I get it; developers want to make as much as possible and building costs are steep. But I wish there were more incentives to build middle-ground apartments. Since there is a big delay between when a project is conceived and when it’s actually available to buy or rent, hopefully in a few years we will see a change based on the over-saturation of the luxury market.
But either way, at least we still have a cool milli of these on the market today.
Look at all the buildings which may be rent stabilized!
Your Real Estate value: breaking down the difference between rent controlled, rent stabilized, market rate, and section 8 housing. I know a lot about this stuff, but I still learned a thing or two in the process.
Housing Projects:
328 physical projects in NYC housing over 400,000 people
public housing
income restrictions
you can apply for housing in one of these “projects” now, if you qualify
Section 8 Housing Vouchers:
235,000 households in private apts in NYC
income restrictions
used to pay rent in private buildings that are NOT specifically income restricted
new applications for Section 8 housing have not been accepted since 2009, so this doesn’t help people who aren’t already in the program
Rent Controlled:
roughly 27,000 exist in the city
built before Feb 1947, continuously occupied since 1971
not income restricted
rents can go up based on the DHCR (Division of Housing and Community Renewal) rulings
guaranteed renewal at the end of your lease
if landlord sells, you get to remain a tenant on the same lease for same price
you can't get one now unless you have a family member who has one and find a way to get on the lease
Rent Stabilized:
roughly 1 million exist in the city
built before 1974, unless they are a more modern building that received tax incentives for offering rent stabilization
not based off income
rents can only go up a set amount set by DHCR
guaranteed renewal at the end of your lease
if landlord sells, you get to remain a tenant on the same lease for same price
you can rent a vacant, rent-stabilized place now!
Free-market:
everything else
no guaranteed renewal — your landlord can sell the building at the end of your lease and you gotta bounce
rent can go up with the market, so no protection if the location becomes super popular
I want to write more in the future about the other types of rental units, but for now let’s call it a day, and I’ll see you back next week with another NEW YORK VALUEEEEEEE.
xo
Anna