No more home visits for affordable housing. NYC bans them FINALLY! (New York: affordable apartment, renters)
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Did anyone see the news yesterday? Getting an affordable apartment will be easier. You can't be rejected SOLELY because of credit, and the infamous home visits are GONE!
I always found this a very oppressive and anti-poor law. You don't see home visits happening when the wealthy move to mansions. But on the otherhand having hoarders in your building can be devastating. Whole floors become malodorous and get infested with pests. Home visits are supposed to be designed to prevent boarding, and so in that sense I can understand it
Affordable housing going to be a mess. The new projects. Don't understand why they are making these changes when people who are perfectly qualified can't even get an apartment now. This just opens the floodgates to less than desirable tenants.
I mostly support this law. Since the whole idea of affordable housing is to help those who are struggling with market rents, disqualifying someone because of their credit history runs contrary to that. However, if you have a history of being late or not paying rent or damaged an apartment--then that's a valid reason to reject someone.
Also, forcing developers to ignore the unfair "tenant blacklist" is a huge step forward and I hope it will apply someday to all buildings affordable or market rate. You will show up on the blacklist simply for *appearing* in housing court--even if the landlord is entirely at fault and the judgment is in your favor. Landlords love this arrangement because it obviously discourages tenants from standing up to them when they are abusive.
As for the home visits, that's the only bit that I felt was somewhat justified. As mentioned above by Boogey, a hoarder or an otherwise unsanitary person can ruin the floor and they are extremely stubborn about maintaining their filth. I imagine it's not feasible to apply this to market renters since many of them move here from out of state and it would obviously not be possible to inspect their previous home.
I mostly support this law. Since the whole idea of affordable housing is to help those who are struggling with market rents, disqualifying someone because of their credit history runs contrary to that. However, if you have a history of being late or not paying rent or damaged an apartment--then that's a valid reason to reject someone.
Also, forcing developers to ignore the unfair "tenant blacklist" is a huge step forward and I hope it will apply someday to all buildings affordable or market rate. You will show up on the blacklist simply for *appearing* in housing court--even if the landlord is entirely at fault and the judgment is in your favor. Landlords love this arrangement because it obviously discourages tenants from standing up to them when they are abusive.
As for the home visits, that's the only bit that I felt was somewhat justified. As mentioned above by Boogey, a hoarder or an otherwise unsanitary person can ruin the floor and they are extremely stubborn about maintaining their filth. I imagine it's not feasible to apply this to market renters since many of them move here from out of state and it would obviously not be possible to inspect their previous home.
Disagree most strongly regarding credit history/scores.
A credit history is just that, a record of how one handles one's financial affairs. Rent payments and use of credit are related.
The City even acknowledges this fact when they lowered the credit score to 580; that is they *want* persons who borrow from Peter to pay Paul each month to become tenants. In other words households where total monthly debts exceed income. So things get moved around each month and paid when either money comes in (late), and or are living so close to the window's edge that it only takes one setback to push them out. They miss one or two paychecks and or there is an unexpected financial hit the rent will be late.
Once again the City is showing why property owners don't like getting involved with rental housing; just as with RS the goal posts for this "affordable housing" scheme keep moving. Rent Stabilization was meant to address a shortage of housing and some of the worse abuses of landlords. It now has become a tool to promote "affordable housing", whatever that means.
The 80/20 program was supposed to provide affordable housing for a set period, then it became permanent, now it is becoming a social welfare/equality housing push.
I think the 80/20 program is being steered in this direction because of the absence of federal and state money for housing.
Nycha is so overcrowded and broke that it can't handle the demand for low-income housing.
But the number of units supplied by the 80/20 system is just a drop in the bucket of what's needed.
Developers have been given the run of New York with outrageous tax breaks and the gift of zoning, whereby you see 50-story buildings going up right next to the skyscraper next door.
De Blasio is trying to eek out some public benefit from all the giveaways, but it's too little, too late.
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