Online Alerts

City Sends Revocation Notices to 178 Buildings Receiving 421-a Benefits

December 1, 2016    

Mayor Bill de Blasio, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced that HPD has issued letters notifying owners of 178 residential buildings–with a total of 1,400 rental apartments–that their 421-a tax benefits will be revoked retroactively...

City Announces New Energy-Efficiency Program for Apartment Buildings

December 1, 2016    

Mayor de Blasio recently announced the launch of the NYC Building Operator Training Program to help residential buildings cut energy costs up to 20 percent. The new program offers a no-cost, 30-hour training program for small, multifamily building maintenance staff on ways to reduce energy...

Airbnb Settles Lawsuit with New York State, Suit with City Continues

December 1, 2016    

Airbnb Inc. settled its lawsuit against New York State over a new law restricting short-term rentals, with both sides agreeing that New York City, not the state, is responsible for enforcing it. The new law prohibits advertising of short-term rentals—less than 30 days—with violators...

Public Advocate Identifies 100 Worst Landlords for 2016

November 3, 2016    

Public Advocate Letitia James recently released the annual list of the 100 worst landlords in New York City. The list compiles the landlords who have accrued the most violations relative to the total buildings they own. The information is available here...

Airbnb in Talks with State and New York City to Settle Lawsuit

November 3, 2016    

Airbnb is in talks with New York officials about settling the lawsuit Airbnb filed after Gov. Andrew Cuomo passed a law targeting “hosts” with illegal listings with up to $7,500 in fines. Airbnb sued the city and New York State just hours after Cuomo signed the bill into law in...

City Council Considers Monitoring ‘Predatory Landlords’

November 3, 2016    

The New York City Council recently introduced three bills intended to provide greater protection to tenants at risk of being illegally evicted. The three pieces of legislation target so-called predatory equity landlords. Predatory landlords refer to landlords who buy buildings at high prices in...

Public Advocate Calls for Major Reforms to the City’s Tax Lien Sale

October 13, 2016    

Each year since 1998, the city has sold off landlords’ unpaid fines and bills to private investors, who then collect payments and can seize properties if the owners don’t pay. But when the debt is sold off the inflating interest can becoming a crushing burden, and residents often...

City Announces 20,000 Enrollees in NYC Rent Freeze Program

October 13, 2016    

Mayor Bill de Blasio, Department of Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha, and Housing, Preservation & Development Commissioner Vicki Been recently announced that the city has enrolled 20,000 seniors and people with disabilities in the NYC Rent Freeze Program since expanding access in June 2014...

Airbnb’s New Revenue-Sharing Program with Landlords Off to Shaky Start

October 13, 2016    

Airbnb’s attempt to bring landlords into the fold by offering them a cut of revenue is off to a shaky start. In an effort to get landlords to allow their tenants to rent units on Airbnb, the rental giant launched a program last month that offers landlords a cut of revenue between 5 and 15...

Airbnb Threatens to Sue if Gov. Cuomo Signs Anti-Airbnb Bill

September 8, 2016    

Under New York State's Multiple Dwelling Law, it is already illegal to temporarily rent out your full apartment for fewer than 30 days if you're not present, but, in June, a bill passed by the state legislature made it illegal to advertise the units....

Brokerage Partners with Anti-Slumlord Website

September 8, 2016    

Citi Habitats recently became the first brokerage to partner with Rentlogic, a website that grades landlords on how they manage their properties. Launched earlier this year, Rentlogic is a database that gathers public information on complaints about issues like...

ECB Judgment Amnesty Program Begins Sept. 12

September 8, 2016    

On April 21, 2016, Mayor de Blasio signed Local Law 45, which authorized the Department of Finance (DOF) to create a 90-day amnesty program for owners with outstanding ECB judgments. The three-month program allows participants to resolve violations they...