New York Rent Laws

Rent Regulation "Reform" Act of 1993

In 1993 the NYS legislature enabled the so-called "Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1993" which severely weakened rent protections for all rent regulated tenants. Touted as a "reform" in that it allowed decontrol of certain high-income and high rent apartments, buried deep within the measure are provisions which completely gut rent registration, which since 1984 has been the method to track rents and services. If there is no longer any penalty for not registering (and by extension no longer any real requirement), the entire system becomes meaningless -- exactly what the real estate industry intended.

Also touted by some as a measure of fairness for smaller "mom and pop" landlords, the provisions have single- handedly benefitted the larger developers while offering no relief to the smaller owners. Indeed, a well-functioning registration system can benefit small landlords (those who have the most to lose) by limiting their risk for non-compliance.

Although this document is in the public domain and presented here for the benefit of the public, any arrangement and formatting (to the extent that they can be) are copyright 1995 and 1996 (c) TenantNet and may not be reposted in this format without the express consent of TenantNet and without including this and the above paragraphs.

NOTE: This document is a "raw chapter" of the New York State legislature. It's various sections are additions and deletions from existing laws and must be inserted in the indicated laws for a proper reading.

Also See: The Effect of the 1993 Late Registration Amendment in Determining Lawful Rents, an analysis of the 1993 rent law changes by Andrea Novick, Esq.

The Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1993

Go to Rent Stabilization Law