The Brian Lehrer Show

Landlords can ask for whatever they want - it does not mean that they will receive it.

Landlords can't just demand whatever they want for rent.

Using that logic Oil companies can charge $50 a gallon for gas.

Housing is an essential need so capitalism can not run rampid which is why rent-stabilization is so important.

15% is unacceptable.

3 to 5% tops is reasonable.

Boaz,

and if we don't have kids?

rent goes up then all the low price restaurant and other services move out. i find it harder and harder to find cheap healthy places to eat in my work neighborhood (west 52nd st area.)

I think my landlord cheats his way out of renting out what should be a rent stablized apt. My rent bill each months reads that the rent is $2000, but that I get a "discount" and pay only $1425. This is my third year in my apt. I started out paying $1350 the first year, then $1375 the second. Now $1425. There is no way he would get $2000 for this apt., so why does he get to say the rent is $2000 and then claim he's just giving me a discount? When I first rented the apt, I was told that the rent was $1350, not $2000, but I was getting a discount.

Thanks to this discussion, I now realize that he's claiming the market value is $2000, so he can raise my rent yearly more than would be allowed under rent stablization.

Landlords have profited by extreme property value increases and low taxes in the city, not to mention passing on costs of MCI major capital improvements to the tenants.

They should have to pay for fuel increases out of their profits.

they should just get rid of rent regulation. Other cities n the nation and the world get along quite well without it. Somehow people live where they can afford rather than feeling they have a right for others to pay more for them to live in the most expensive piece of land in the country. It will reduce housing costs for everyone rather than creating a lottery system for a very lucky few at everyone else's expense.

Simon 7

well as it stands now there is very little middle working class housing around. who will build some if they can get make % more for luxury high rise condos?

Quick comment about "fixed income": who ISN'T on a fixed income? It's not like we can just ask for a raise because of cost of living increases. I understand that seniors may not have regular employer-generated percentage-based increases, but someone like me, who works for a state educational institution, may get cost of living increases that are also way below inflation, or may get none at all depending on contract negotiations.

hjs, its not the city's job to regulate housing, people will have to move where they can afford to. I for one would love to live in Manhattan, but I know I cannot afford it at this point. I don't expect someone else to pick up the difference of what I can afford on their dime. All this system does it make it more expensive to live here for everyone. The building still needs to pay for realestate tax, maintenance, heat, water, etc. All going up at duble digit rates. Guess who pays for this? The bills still need to be paid after all. The market rate tenets pay through their increase rents or buyers through their increased maintenance and everyone through their tax bills. All this does is lock even more people out of living in the city. The bottom line is someone needs to pay, so all this system does is pit neighbors against each other, and young vs old, etc. It is antiquated, locks up units and does little for anyone. Other cities gave this up long ago with predictions of doom, yet nothing of the sort ever happened. Enough is enough.

Most apartments in NYC are over heated, why nobody talks about lowering the heat instead of charging more for rent? You see all this windows open during the cold months because it is too hot inside, it is an incredible waist of money, not to talk about pollution!

Great point, Gabriela. I wish that would have been brought up in follow-up Friday, as well as whether or not the % of income towards your rent is supposed to be gross or net. With all the comments about that here Wednesday, I can't believe that point wasn't mentioned Friday.

Simon

Well, I won’t mention the huge profits that landlords make, and I wasn’t talking about regulating housing. What is the job of the city if it’s not making the city habitable? I’d like the city to encourage builders to build more middle class housing (ie tax breaks) thus far the mayor’s attempts, to bring an economic diversity to the city, have been inadequate. Diversity would help the tax base, create jobs and restore they city to a position of national leadership. Also new buildings are all market rate only old building are protected.