Adam Leitman Bailey's blog

With the June 2019 passage of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA), owners are desperately seeking ways out of rent regulation in an attempt to recapture the profitability their buildings previously had. Two such exit strategies are “substantial rehabilitation,” available only to deteriorated buildings, and “demolition,” generally available to rent-stabilized buildings regardless of their condition.

One of the most fascinating parts of a real estate lawyer's career is negotiating the selling of rights to a rent-regulated tenancy to a landlord. These deals have made tenants into multimillionaires and given landlords the ability to build high-rise buildings. Now, this symbiosis of dreaming dreams and making them come true is under threat by existing case law (discussed in last month’s blog post) and new laws already enacted and politically promised.