Landlords help keep the economy of New York going by offering millions of people fair and safe housing. But many of them are concerned about doing business in a new legal atmosphere that may cause new problems between landowners and their tenants.
New tenant protections affecting the city and state of New York are rankling some landlords. They are claiming the new Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, passed in Albany last June, are due to cause friction between them and their tenants.
The law, among other provisions, prevents landlords from seeking security deposit amounts in excess of one month’s rent. Tenants now receive a 14-day notice to pay late rent before landlords are able to begin legal proceedings against them. A history of evictions or disputes with landlords in the past can no longer be counted against a person while seeking new housing.
One landlord relates that evictions based on failure to pay rent previously took a minimum of a month to execute. New laws may extend this time to two or three months, during which landlords may not expect payment for their valuable properties.
“When you create policies and procedures that make it deleterious to investors to invest in that region, it leads to disinvestment,” said a real estate developer working in New York cities.
Landlords looking to protect their investments may always consult an attorney. Help with legal representation can reduce the valuable time that landlords may spend on disputes with renters who are not paying and protect them from inadvertently violating new laws that apply to their business practices.
