A May 5th New York Times article reports that private firms are buying up rent-regulated buildings, and tenant advocates say the new owners have begun harassing tenants to increase vacancies. Attorneys from our Queens Legal Services Office, among others, are representing tenants in the targeted buildings.
Private investment firms have been buying up thousands of rent-regulated apartments across New York City expecting to generate quick profits by increasing rents after existing tenants leave their units. Tenant advocates say that they are beginning to see a pattern of harassment and intimidation of residents of rent controlled apartments intended to force them out of their homes so that the rents can be raised. In the past 4 years, developers backed by private equity firms have acquired almost 75,000 rent-regulated apartments.
Read the New York Times article HERE.