Owners of the buildings that house the more than 900,000 rent-regulated apartments in the city have complained about the changes to the regulated rent law, stating that the new regime will discourage investment and decimate property values. Landlords can now recoup a maximum of $15,000 spent on upgrading a single apartment via rent increases parsed out over a 15-year period, a sum that many owners say is insufficient to properly renovate a unit for a new occupant.

“The average age of a rent-regulated building is over 70 years old, and the average length of time a tenant is in a rent-regulated apartment is 14 years,” Martin said. “So these apartments need a lot of investment, and many owners don’t feel they can get the units to a basic level of habitability for $15,000.”

As a result, landlords are keeping vacant apartments empty, Martin said, perhaps in hopes of holding out for legislative relief. CHIP and other industry groups are expected to aggressively lobby Albany lawmakers for changes during the next legislative session.

Martin said his group is discussing ideas to potentially tap state or city funds to help subsidize the cost of regulated apartment improvements, either by paying for the improvement directly or granting landlords who invest beyond the $15,000 cap property tax relief or a tax freeze.

“We are going to come out very early, and we’re going to be very proactive,” Martin said. “These buildings are dying, and there needs to be a mechanism for relief. Let the state put its money where its mouth is.”

To attempt to put the issue on the mind of legislators, CHIP announced it was inviting state lawmakers who represent New York City to tour rent-regulated buildings and units to see firsthand the capital upgrades they require.

“We want them to see what these rent-regulated units look like,” Martin said. “You tell us if you would live here if there was only $15,000 of upgrades.”