Sherwin Belkin, Co-Founding Partner, was quoted by City Limits in the article, “NY Quietly Finalizes Housing Regulations Cheered By ‘Frankensteining’ Critics.
New York has quietly finalized housing regulations that are being praised by critics who had concerns about landlords combining multiple apartments into one, a practice known as “Frankensteining.” These amendments, the first update to the Rent Stabilization Code since 2014, will impact around 1 million rent-regulated apartments in the city. The new rules will limit rent increases for combined apartments by calculating the legal rent based on the rent of the two prior apartments combined. The regulations also provide clarity on when a tenant has the right to stay in a stabilized apartment after their relative moves out.
Sherwin Belkin stated in the article that these regulatory amendments are “harmful for owners and capitulation to tenant advocates.” And regarding the changes the DHCR has made regarding succession claims, Sherwin notes that the DHCR “has essentially made a roadmap for a tenant who is absent from an apartment to hide [this] from a landlord.” He also suggested that there maybe many challenges to these changes in court, but the outcome of those challenges “remain to be seen.”
If you have any questions about these regulatory changes please feel free to contact us.