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Has anyone been in a rental Michell Lama whose landlord has bought out his mortgage and upped the rent to the high heavens?
Were you placed into rent stabilization, Section 8 vouchers or anything else? Or just upped to market rent?
Place in my neighborhood, The Knickerbocker, had this happen and special vouchers were given out that could only be used in that building, not transferrable like regular Section 8. They have since expired and the tenants art crying the blues about rents doubling...over $2,000 for a two bedroom apartment. The landlord has done some considerable upgrading.
Each development has its own arrangement. I know that at Waterside Plaza, a rental, the tenants association was able to reach an agreement with the landlord. They opted not to enter rent stabilization, I think because many of the apartments would have already been priced above the "luxury" cap. So, Watersiders who remained after the conversion are called "settlement tenants," and their rent went up by 7% a year. After a couple of years that seemed high, so they hired a lawyer and got the percentage reduced to 4%. But I'm not sure how long the agreement is scheduled to last, and what would happen after that.
I know some people from Independence Plaza and they ended up with a patchwork; some section 8, some LAMP(?) program, some market rate, depending on qualifications. Then, at some point, they moved all the section 8's into one of the two buildings and downgraded anyone in a too-large apt (like if your children were grown and your spouse died, you were only entitled to a studio). The guy I know under the other program is about to be unable to afford his place after the next increase and the market rates - you don't want to go there.
Each development has its own arrangement. I know that at Waterside Plaza, a rental, the tenants association was able to reach an agreement with the landlord. They opted not to enter rent stabilization, I think because many of the apartments would have already been priced above the "luxury" cap. So, Watersiders who remained after the conversion are called "settlement tenants," and their rent went up by 7% a year. After a couple of years that seemed high, so they hired a lawyer and got the percentage reduced to 4%. But I'm not sure how long the agreement is scheduled to last, and what would happen after that.
''There were a lot of delaying tactics used, but finally the D.H.C.R. suggested we split our differences down the middle and forget the concept of horizontal multiple dwelling,'' she said. After more than two and a half years of wrangling, the rent increases were set at 9 percent a year for two years and 7.5 percent every year thereafter. The first increase went into effect on Nov. 1, 2001.
Even though they had a rider in their leases stating that they would come under rent stablization after Mitchell-Lama, residents agreed to forego the protection of stabilization. ''If we had lost in our appeal to the state, then the entire complex could have gone to market rate,'' said B. J. Handal, the current president of the Waterside Tenants Association and its former treasurer. ''The tenants essentially made a decision to take what was not a great deal but better than being forced out.'' Tenants Adjust To Life After Mitchell-Lama - NYTimes.com
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