Rent Board Chief on Shifting Onus from Landlords
The Observer ran an interesting interview yesterday with the head of the Rent Guidelines Board, Marvin Markus, that lays out some of the common-sense problems with rent control and stabilization. If we as a society deem it worthwhile to subsidize certain people (and clearly there are lots of reasons to do so), then the cost…
The Observer ran an interesting interview yesterday with the head of the Rent Guidelines Board, Marvin Markus, that lays out some of the common-sense problems with rent control and stabilization. If we as a society deem it worthwhile to subsidize certain people (and clearly there are lots of reasons to do so), then the cost should be borne by society as a whole not individual landlords, argues Markus. “There are poor tenants, they should be protected, but the individual owner is not the one that should protect them. The population at large clearly should be the ones footing the bill,” he says. And how would be do that? “One suggestion is a rent tax/surcharge of some limited amount, on all rents in the city … and all co-op and condo charges in the city. … It’s very important for the city of New York that there be a mixed income base—from an economic standpoint; from a social standpoint—and we want to make sure, I want to make sure, that that continues.” While landlords make easy political targets, it’s hard to make any rational arguments in favor of the current system: Lifetime entitlements makes no sense at all; nor does a system that dis-incentivizes landlords from maintaining the housing stock.
Rent Board Chief Markus Pleads for ‘Rationality’ [NY Observer]
Photo from the Tenement Museum
ugh. if we deregulated all the rent controlled apartments in nyc we would lost like 99 percent of our eccentrics and kooks! just let them die off. remove the part where they can give them to family members though. that sh-t is bananas.
sometimes i think rent stabalized apartments arent a bad idea. many (most) stabalized apartments are not that much difference in price from market rate.
*rob*
I agree that there are problems with abuse. The proposed solution though is absurd. Why should I pay while the 20 richest families in NYC receive a 1time windfall? The RS buildings were bought at pennies on the dollar because of the restrictions. I suggest that the owners of these properties get the option to buy themselves out. The cheaper the current rent, the more money they would pay the city to remove the apartment from RS. Then, the city can roll qualified people under it’s section 8 so they can stay. People who do not qualify can stay at market rent. The money paid to decontrol should be the equivalent of 5 years of subsidy.
suburbandude- you are confusing rent stabilization and rent control.
And rent control or rent stabilization does not devalue a building. If it did, the landlords of all those incredible pre-war apartment buildings on the UWS would have abandoned them long ago.
“”In 10 to 20 years we will have a 95% market rate rental market.”
And no middle class….”
What is completely right.
bkhabitant – the problem is you have lots of undeserving people who are paying below market rents. Because the building is devalued, its property assessment is lowered, and the property taxes are reduced. Therefore, everybody else is paying for this tenant’s low rent. Plus, because rent stabilized tenants never move, it keeps vacancies down and market rates artificially high. That’s just two of dozens of reasons why rent stabilization has been a 75-year disaster in NYC.
SuburbanDude has hit the nail right on the head. This is the sane way to undo a byzantine system that no other large city in the US has. It is also a humane way to prevent large-scale dislocation.
Denton: I agree with your point that a segment of the private market should not be forced to subsidize the rents of lower-income tenants, it is a public/government responsibility. However, don’t we already have this in the form of the Earned Income Credit, Section 8 vouchers, public housing and affordable housing subsidies? Where do we draw a line?
PeteBrooklyn. Your point is way off base. Rent control is government price control in a private market. A taxi medalion is a government-provided right to run a business on publicly-owned property (cruising the street for fares). Hence, in this latter case, government has every right to set the rates.
“In 10 to 20 years we will have a 95% market rate rental market.”
And no middle class….
Rent Control is a subsidy for Landlords, not renters. The rental market would crash if they removed Rent Control. I love how they way the newly transplanted come up with solutions.
BTW If you do away with Rent Control then let’s get rid of Section 8 that’s a “subsidy” for Landlords not tenants.
Ask yourselves one question: What is going to happen to all those Condos being built? No one addresses that question and when they are completed, they will complete for renters further depressing the Rental Market. I’m willing to bet the the talk of removing Rent Control will go away. You have 5 months left enjoy them…
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…
The What
Someday this war is gonna end,,,,
suburban dude, you don’t understand, you are talking heresy. people can be burned at the stake for making suggestions like the ones in your post. Rent regulations in NYC are the bedrock on which political careers are built. A politician running for office may as well come out against bicycles or organic produce or school integration.
rent control doesn’t make sense at all, if they are poor they should be given a check to live where ever they want to.
if they aren’t poor at all and living in rent control, they should pay market rent.
The solution to the problem is easy:
1) 100% vacancy decontrol.
2) If you make over $150,000 a year you are decontrolled, irrespective of the current rent.
3) If you have liquid assets over $250,000 (or some number) you are decontrolled.
4) If you own any other property you are decontrolled.
5) You can not pass an apartment to a relative when you die.
In 10 to 20 years we will have a 95% market rate rental market.