I have a rent-stabilized studio in midtown. Lately I've been thinking about relocating to LA. I was planning on subletting, legally, for the two years that are allowed, and then after the two years are up I'd make a decision about returning to NYC or staying in LA. But now I'm wondering if the landlord wouldn't be willing to pay me to give up the apartment. I know he has offered other tenants money to leave. My rent is about 40% of what vacated studios are now being rented for, so he's losing a lot of money by having me in the building. I calculated that over the course of a two year sublet, he'd be losing over $17,000 in rent that he could make if I vacated my apartment. And then of course if I return, he'd be losing about $9,000 per year. So my quesion is a general question about buyouts. Has anybody out there had any experience with a buyout? Since I haven't been approached, should I approach the landlord? Is there any risk for me if I bring up the subject with the landlord? Just curious.
Scuse us, but this site and forum are for tenants' rights - not musing over the size of your windfall. While buyouts have their place - when tenants are being pressured to leave, in calculating what is fair compensation for their moving expenses and increased rent elsewhere - landlords are not 'losing' money. Rent regulation is the only business we know that guarantees landlords a profit. Lets keep the bandwidth for tenants with real problems, and lets not provide incentives for taking even more units out of the affordable ranks.
The Tenant Network(tm) for Residential Tenants Information from TenantNet is from experienced non-attorney tenant activists and is not considered legal advice. Subscribe to our Twitter Feed @TenantNet