MAR 5, 2023
After Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the 2019 Tenant Protection Act, New York State has managed to make it even more difficult for businesses and landlords to do any kind of business in the state (especially in New York City).
Continue reading below to learn more about some of the provisions the 2019 TPA offers that can possibly lead to higher admin costs for landlords, lower incentives to build new housing, and thus making it harder for low income persons to find affordable housing.
Let's say a tenant has had multiple evictions in her tenant history, and is now looking for a new apartment. If a new landlord were to deny her based off of her eviction track record, the landlord's in violation of the 2019 TPA. As we all know, prior history is the strongest indicator of future performance. If it's illegal for a landlord to protect herself from tenants that have a history of non-payment and evictions, exactly what protection does the landlord have against possible malicious behavior by a tenant?
An IAI is when a landlord makes improvements to rent regulated apartments and then subsequently increases the rental amount (with written approval from the tenant). After the 2019 TPA, the landlord can now no longer increase rent beyond $83-$89/month, regardless of the amount of money spent to modernize the apartment.
Landlords can now also not claim more than three IAIs in a 15 year period, and the IAI will expire after 30 years.
If a landlord is able to successfully win a judgement when against a tenant for default or eviction, the landlord is no longer allowed to recover any attorneys' or legal fees that they paid for to go through the court process. Although this may seem arbitrary, it's unfair for someone not to be entitled to recover their costs caused by a tenant's inability to uphold their contractual obligations.
This content is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as financial, tax, legal, or insurance advice.
