A Bronx broker and a Staten Island property owner were sued by the City’s new Source of Income Discrimination Unit for, respectively, advertising “No Section 8” and advising applicants that vouchers were not accepted. Ironically, the broker told the Times that the buildings listed in his ad were not his actual clients, just nearby, because he wanted to protect his listings.
Public housing can have satisfied tenants, if it is privately managed. A report by the Citizens Housing and Planning Council compared the buildings in a pilot project on private management with similar publicly managed projects and found that professional management makes a difference.
Although the City is looking at tightening lead paint laws for apartments, Mayor de Blasio acknowledged in a radio interview about lead poisoning cases at NYCHA that “We don’t know specifically what happened with each child, because unfortunately with lead [poisoning], there can be many sources.”
California apartment owners are looking at potentially broader rent regulationsafter a proposition repealing state restrictions qualified for the November ballot.
Regulation doesn’t just make existing housing more expensive, it is responsible for more than 30% of the cost of new housing development, according to a new study by the National Association of Home Builders and the National Multi Housing Council.
In one of its final acts before adjournment, the New York State Legislature passed a bill that will make Marshals look out for pets when performing an eviction. The bill now goes to the Governor for signature.
Rockland County’s Rent Guidelines Board approved a rent freeze for the coming year and Westchester’s board reportedly approved 2 and 3 percent one and two year guidelines, although they weren’t scheduled to vote until next week. CHIP’s Executive Director testified at Tuesday’s Manhattan hearing of the City Rent Guidelines Board and an audience of only a couple of dozen tenants.