Rent Fight Has Long History

New York Daily News, June 16, 1997

1920 — The city's first rent law gives tenants the right to challenge "unjust, unreasonable and oppressive" increases. Law ends in 1929.

1943 — President Franklin D. Roosevelt places rents under federal control.

1947 — The federal government makes existing buildings subject to continued regulation.

1949 — Washington lets states take over federal rent regulations.

1953 — State lawmakers enact limited rent decontrol and approve a 15% across-the-board rent increase.

1958 — New York's first luxury decontrol law passes, covering about 600 apartments.

1962 — City wins authority over rent-controlled units in the five boroughs.

1964 — An additional 5,000 "high-rent" apartments are decontrolled.

1969 — City board creates rent-stabilization system.

1970 — New city program establishes formula to compute maximum rent for controlled apartments.

1971 — State lawmakers approve vacancy decontrol.

1974 — State repeals vacancy decontrol and creates state rent stabilization.

1993 — State lawmakers enact vacancy decontrol for apartments renting for $2,000 or more and immediate decontrol for tenants with income exceeding $250,000 and rent more than $2,000 a month.