As Stephen Kotkin has observed, “There are two ways to destroy a city, bombing (Coventry 1940, above) and rent control.” A warning to New York voters.
On Culture and Architecture
On Culture and Architecture
As Stephen Kotkin has observed, “There are two ways to destroy a city, bombing (Coventry 1940, above) and rent control.” A warning to New York voters.
Laws and unintended consequences: A few years ago a friend (and former tenant) of mine fresh from earning his masters (preservation) at Columbia got his first job with a group dedicated to saving historic homes all over Long Island. Leaving his Manhattan student housing he found a small apartment in Queens suited to his income about halfway from his L.I. office in one direction and Manhattan in the other. His income was relatively good for a first job with a brand new degree ………..until it wasn’t. NYC is one of most difficult cities in the U.S. to evict a tenant for cause with it being a long, difficult and costly process. As in many U.S. cities the majority of renters (and landlords) stick to their rental agreements but like everywhere a minority (including landlords) games the system at the expense of everybody else. The people that suffer the most due to this reality are first time apartment seekers. As a consequence of those who game the system NYC landlords have some of the strictest lease requirements in the U.S. for people trying to rent an average apartment. Despite excellent credit and references he wasn’t able to meet the standard NYC minimum income standard ……….which is that annual gross earnings must equal or exceed the amount needed to pay 40 months of rent (for example an annual income of $100K is needed to qualify for an apartment costing $2,500. per month). Finally he was able to find a decent place but only could only be approved if his parents would sign as financial guarantors. Luckily for my friend his parents are well off but being a proud guy he wanted to do this on his own without family help. Unreasonable rent control and eviction laws discourage the creation of new housing intended for middle income people and drives up prices for apartments for everybody. It isn’t an accident that the most expensive cities for housing in the U.S. are the ones with the strictest rental regulations.