As June drew to a close, New York State government enacted one of the most significant strengthenings of tenant protections in decades. The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 works to repeal many of the loopholes in the state's rent regulations enacted in 1997 and puts more power in the hands of tenants: It ends the deregulation of vacant rent-stabilized apartments with high enough rent and the 20 percent surcharge on vacant apartments, it sets tight limits on how much landlords can raise rents for renovations and gives tenants more time to challenge illegal rent increases, it will make the "preferential rent" discounts given to some 300,000 tenants last until they move out, and more. There have long been issues in the housing market - rising rents and cutthroat landlord practices just to name a few - but things are looking up. While it may not have accomplished everything lobbyists wanted, this bill is a huge win for tenants in the never-ending struggle for power and control in the housing market.
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