when. . .when Vibrant news site Focus New York obtained a private memo from the Real Estate Board of New York to the governor, looking for revelations that would not only be in the public interest but would cause outrage, or at least a stir. Just like any good publication.
Rabney is pitching Gov. Kathy Hochul on a housing policy that has gridlocked Albany throughout the legislative session. There’s bound to be something exciting in the message, if not a shock of conscience. After all, this is a confidential memo from a major industry group on a controversial topic.
But the letters, which were recorded under public records requests, proved difficult for Focus New York to follow.
Instead of pushing unbalanced laws that enrich landlords and developers, siphon cash from state coffers, and leave tenants penniless, REBNY recommends compromises and even measures that ostensibly work against the interests of its members.
Foremost among these is the expansion of access to attorneys — free attorneys for tenants facing eviction.
“It could be piloted in more densely populated areas of the state, or in
REBNY President Jim Whelan wrote to the governor’s top staff.
If Hochl thinks it’s too expensive for the state, Whelan recommends having law students work under the supervision of a supervising attorney.
Unfortunately new york focus, which is neither outrageous nor new.three months ago, in its second sentence witness During the City Council hearing, the lobby group announced: “REBNY supports expanded lawyers’ rights plan.”
A landlord’s attorney in the upstate was quoted by Focus New York as saying he opposed expanding the program because it would only prevent evictions. But offering free advice to tenants can also be good for landlords. Judges have been delaying eviction cases until tenants hire lawyers, so more lawyers could mean faster resolution.
Some judges have been known to be essentially attorneys for tenants who appear in court without an attorney. Many landlord lawyers prefer to have a fellow lawyer to negotiate and attend court appointments – while tenants often don’t – leading to an adjournment, wasting everyone’s time.
To ease housing court backlogs, REBNY is also calling for more judges. Not even tenant advocates can argue against this, at least not publicly. Who can cheer for the backlog?
Then REBNY wrote: “Lease renewals should be subject to the statutory cap proposed by the Attorney General in his statute to address price gouging.” The 10 percent cap applies only to housing emergencies.
As tenant advocate Cea Weaver puts it, that sounds “ridiculously weak,” but it’s not. Politicians can engineer a housing emergency to last forever, as has happened in New York City. The 10% figure could be reduced as lawmakers make sausages.
No one knows whether this will push tenants through the effort of universal rent control, or solve the problem at a cost acceptable to landlords, as happened in California.
Then, REBNY offered to share “draft legislative language,” which Focus NY called “an obvious proposal for an industry-written bill.” This sounds dodgy, but it’s common practice and is done by both sides of any issue, partly to make sure nothing gets lost in translation.
In fact, when supporters push a bill, lawmakers often ask them to put it in writing. Lawmakers then make the changes that suit them.
The essence of the industry memo was to suggest that landlords could tolerate tenant protections without constituting just cause evictions, something REBNY and Hochul objected to because it deprived landlords of the right to repossess property from rent-paying tenants.
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For three consecutive years, Shanyin has never passed. In fact, it blocked the passage of other measures, including those to help tenants. Well-meaning supporters won’t support a housing bill that excludes it, which would lead to no progress.
That’s not the only reason, but until advocates stop viewing their perfection as the enemy of the good, legislative sessions will continue to suck. Maybe next year they’ll get the memo.
