State lawmakers agree to extend New York City rent control laws

[June 24, 2015]  By Daniel Wiessner
 
 ALBANY, N.Y. (Reuters) - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and leaders in the state Senate and Assembly on Tuesday said they had reached an agreement to extend recently expired rent control laws for more than 2 million New York City residents.

The rent regulations, which expired last week, would be extended for four years on rent-controlled apartments, Cuomo said at a press conference in Albany.

"You have certain voices saying rent regulations should just go away," Cuomo said, referring to real estate developers. "That is not going to happen any time soon."

Cuomo also said a popular program that gives real estate developers property tax credits for constructing new multi-family rental housing would be extended for six months. The credit expired earlier this month.

The state Assembly and Senate, which could reject the deal, were scheduled to vote on the proposals into Tuesday evening.

Leaders in the Democrat-dominated Assembly had pushed for more than a simple extension of rent regulations, including eliminating a law that allows apartments to come out of rent control if they are left vacant, but the Republican-led Senate blocked those proposals.

The Alliance for Tenant Power, a lobbying group that backed the Assembly's efforts, called Tuesday's agreement a giveaway to landlords and said it would lead to as many as 100,000 rent-controlled apartments being lost in the city over the next four years.

(Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)

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