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LandlordsNY MemberCase of the Week: In the Matter of the Administrative Appeal of The Legal Aid Society & Legal Services NYC
Tenants are rarely going to be happy about having to pay rent increases due to a Major Capital Improvement. This should not come as surprise. The program allows landlords to increase rents even if they do not have the tenants' approval to make building-wide upgrades. However, landlords still need to follow some extremely basic rules when it comes to MCIs, particularly if they are making changes within tenants' apartments.
First, landlords need to hire competent workers who can do the requested job. If the job was done in a manner deemed “unworkmanlike,” a judge may revoke the MCI increase. Second, if … read more
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LandlordsNY Member
New York Build Expo
LandlordsNY is consistently out in the field, attending industry events, City Council meetings, etc in effort to uncover information to share with our members. This week was no different! We attended a real estate/ construction trade expo, NY Build, at the Javits Center. Rather than a recap of the event (spoiler alert: it was a trade expo), we thought it would be more helpful if we shared with you some of the interesting new companies we met there and how they could potentially enhance your business and bottom line.
First off, we want to highlight our Expert partners featured at the show; @Best Energy Power, @ACES Laundry, and @Perennial Construction … read more
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LandlordsNY Member
Case of the Week: In the Matter of the Administrative Appeal of 560-568 Audubon Realty LLC
Stabilized tenants are entitled to a rent reduction if they can show that the functionality of a hitherto provided service has become impaired. Typically, most tenants will look the other way if there are minor issues with the building because...well, buildings tend to have minor issues, especially when the building is a few decades old. Tenants may have to give the door an extra jiggle to get it to lock correctly or their oven temperature may fluctuate, but they can manage to live without these issues interrupting their day.
All older buildings have similar quirks.
If a tenant petitions for a rent reduction based … read more
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LandlordsNY Member
Find Out How Much You Can Cut Your Heating Costs with UGI
Though heating season may be winding down, landlords should still be looking at ways to cut heating costs and to stay ahead of the game. One way is to cut how much fuel you use. The other way is to cut how much you pay for it.
With regards to cutting down on fuel, landlords can make improvements to the building’s heating system. This means increasing efficiency with new components, installing better insulation, or by making the switch from oil to natural gas. Many landlords may be reluctant to convert from heating oil to natural gas. After all, it doesn’t just apply to components in the boiler room. It also means that every range and oven in the … read more
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LandlordsNY Members Try Bixby Free of Charge; Tenants make requests, payments, package concierge, and view announcements all in one place!
A controversial new study published by Freddie Mac is trying to offer better insight into why homeownership rates among millennials continue to lag behind historic norms. On top of being broadsided by the Great Recession, earning smaller salaries than previous generations, and grappling with other issues like terrible credit or burdensome student debt, the study’s authors found that millennials have inherited a housing market with an extremely low inventory. Because inventories are so low in many markets, prices are often prohibitively high. Consequently, even millennials … read more
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LandlordsNY Member
Proposed Rent Act of 2019 Causes Landlords to Develop Adaptive Business Strategies
2019 has the potential to be an incredibly disruptive year for the real estate industry throughout New York. The political tide has turned, and New York's progressives have made it clear that they want their elected officials to strengthen the state's rent laws and to allow the state to impose additional restrictions on the way landlords do business. The Democratic-led City Council passed or plans to pass dozens of laws that will go into effect this year, while the newly-elected Democratic majorities in the state Senate and Assembly are also looking to pass some landmark legislation this coming June when they vote to … read more
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LandlordsNY Member
Case of the Week: In the Matter of the Administrative Appeal of Clermont York Associates et ano
Roberts v. Tishman Speyer has been a controversial decision since the Court of Appeals first issued it in 2009. Landlords have particularly been displeased by its implications because it effectively reregulated thousands of apartments in New York City.
For those unfamiliar with the ruling, the Court found that buildings that received J-51 benefits from the state were barred from deregulating stabilized apartments, even if the legal rent of the subject apartments surpassed the luxury threshold. Owners who did deregulate apartments, even though the deregulation only occurred due to confusion surrounding the … read more
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LandlordsNY Briefing for March 1st
Property Shark has found that median sales prices along Grand Concourse in the Bronx increased by 68 percent between 2014 and 2018. The trend was particularly strong in Mott Haven, which saw a 124.5 percent increase in sales prices—from around $200,000 to $448,916. The median home sales price for the Bronx overall is $292,250.
Welcome2theBronx has more.
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Officials from the Department of Transportation plan to meet with the leaders of Brooklyn’s Community Board 2 March 11 to discuss how the agency can move forward with its plans to repair the stretch of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that runs beneath the Brooklyn … read more
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LandlordsNY Member
What Landlords Need to Know About Passive Houses
"Passive House" is a building standard that dictates the elements of construction and design that an owner or developer employs throughout the building process. On top of making a building extremely energy efficient, following Passive House building standards is relatively affordable, especially considering the amount of money that owners save on operating costs. It can cut heating and cooling expenses by as much as 90 percent when compared to traditional buildings and as much as 75 percent for newer buildings.
Passive House standards can deliver such hefty savings because they require buildings to be extremely well … read more
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LandlordsNY Briefing for February 28th
Mayor Bill de Blasio has proposed almost $53 billion in new spending for infrastructure projects around the city. This amount would be spread over the next four fiscal years and would be added on to the $9.8 billion already dedicated to capital spending this fiscal year, which ends in July. This already constitutes the most the city has put toward capital spending since 2012.
Unsurprisingly, the New York Building Congress supports the plan. “As the city looks to pursue increased investment in major new construction and maintenance, the budget is still fiscally responsible,” the group wrote in a report. “The New York Building … read more
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LandlordsNY Member
Case of the Week: Acosta v. 202 South 2nd Street LLC
Harassing tenants is both morally wrong and illegal. No landlord should ever do it.
Just about every landlord would agree with the above statements. However, some may not know what constitutes harassment or they may vastly underestimate how strict the laws defining it are. For example, three bills that were passed in 2015 (Ints. 682-A, 700-A, and 757-A) specify that landlords cannot contact a tenant about a buyout for 180 days after the tenant has explicitly refused such an offer. If an owner contacts a tenant before the end that approximately six-month period, it is an act of harassment. It doesn’t matter if you, as an owner, think it’s ridiculous and … read more
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LandlordsNY Briefing for February 25th
For years, LaGuardia Airport has been the preferred punching bag for transit advocates. They have regularly criticized the brutalist complex’s labyrinthine roads and narrow corridors. Former Vice President Joe Biden even likened it to a third-world facility. Now that it is midway through its $8 billion renovation, however, the New York City airport is being praised for its design and amenities. By the time the effort is complete, in 2022, the airport’s terminals will consist of 2.4 million square feet, which is 900,000 square feet more than when the project began. This means more workers, more flights, and more hotel guests for the city.The Wall Street Journal has … read more
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What Landlords and Managers Need to Know About UpTop
It's free. That's the very first thing that you need to know. There are no long-term contracts, no hidden fees, no secret deductions. It is free.
The next thing to know is that UpTop is the first free end-to-end rental platform. However, unlike other rental platforms, UpTop streamlines the entire life-cycle of a rental—from the time an apartment is first listed until the tenant receives their security deposit back. It is a centralized hub where landlords, managers, and tenants can easily communicate, coordinate, and resolve any issues that arise over the entire duration of a tenancy.
For managers and owners, UpTop allows for a lean and efficient … read more
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LandlordsNY Briefing for February 21st
A new report released by Zumper found that median rents for one-bedroom apartments in New York City decreased by almost 3 percent from January 2018 to January 2019—to $2,780. There is evidence suggesting that this is a nationwide trend. While only two (New York and Washington, D.C.) of the ten most expensive housing markets saw year-over-year declines in rent for one-bedroom units, the median rent for one-bedrooms in the 100 most populous was down 2.5 percent. Two-bedrooms, meanwhile, were up 3.7 percent.
The New York Times has more.
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State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Dist. 15) is urging his fellow lawmakers to … read more
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Finding the Right Marshal for the Job
As just about any landlord who has operated in New York City knows, Housing Court is a test of one’s endurance. The eviction process is an expensive, arduous endeavor, and it can take years to see a case all the way through even when you’ve dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s. Should you make even a minor mistake, this can cause the case to drag out even longer.
If you’re an owner who is new to Housing Court, you may not recognize how exacting judges can be. Furthermore, you may not understand that the case isn’t necessarily over even if you successfully make your case and receive a Judgment of Possession. It might mean the case is over. It might also mean … read more
