What to do about illegal subletters

"There are countless units that have been in the same tenant's name or family for decades while their needs and family makeup have changed. For example, they have a 3 or 4 bedroom apartment for a family of 1 and perhaps 2. They will then rent the spare bedrooms for $175 to $250 per week, per room. This is not the way rent stabilization is supposed to work. But is it a victimless crime?"

"When the tenant has a rent-stabilized apartment for less than $1,000 [and is renting out rooms], everyone gets hurt and the leaseholder is enriched on the backs of the landlord and other people in the public who need housing for their families. I would say it's bad for families and good for individuals who just want to rent a room but cannot find one of the few remaining single-room occupancy buildings (a shortage that this City Council bill aims to change)."

"The illegal renting of rooms is a consequence of a rent-stabilization system that incentivizes people to stay in large apartments long after their kids have grown up and moved out. The system practically forces them to stay because it makes vacancies scarce. Even if smaller, rent-stabilized units were readily available, they typically have higher rents because they turned over more often when vacancy allowed for rent increases (before the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019)."

Countless rent-stabilized units remain in the same tenant or family names for decades while household needs shrink, leaving large apartments occupied by small households. Tenants often rent spare bedrooms for $175 to $250 per week, providing low-cost rooms but violating rent-stabilization intent. Such subletting can enrich leaseholders, hurt landlords, and reduce housing availability for families. The rent-stabilization system incentivizes long-term occupancy of oversized apartments by making vacancies scarce. Smaller rent-stabilized units historically carried higher rents due to more frequent turnover before the 2019 law. Given the city's housing shortage, renting spare bedrooms is preferable to vacancy, but landlords should receive a share and be able to screen room-renters.

Read at therealdeal.com