Proponents of changing the laws say the current system is riddled with loopholes that each year allow thousands of apartments to become market-rate and reward landlords who push out their rent-stabilized tenants. | AP Photo Democrats' control of state Senate could mean overhaul of rent regulations

Democrats’ victory in the state Senate Tuesday will loosen the real estate industry’s grip over the historically Republican chamber, months before the state’s controversial rent laws are set to expire in June.

With the GOP projected to lose control of the Senate, Democrats are poised to have a majority for the second time in more than 50 years, giving sought-after reforms to rent rules the best chance they have had since landlord-friendly changes were ushered in in the 1990s.


The state’s rent laws are particularly important for New York City lawmakers, where nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments are viewed by affordable housing advocates and Democratic politicians as a vital protection against soaring housing prices across the city.

“We’ve heard a pretty resounding chorus from Democratic state Senators that rent is the top priority in Albany next year, and most state Senate and Assembly members know housing is going to be the biggest fight,” said Jonathan Westin, executive director of left-leaning advocacy organization New York Communities for Change.

Proponents of changing the laws say the current system is riddled with loopholes that each year allow thousands of apartments to become market-rate and reward landlords who push out their rent-stabilized tenants.

Democrats see their victory as an opportunity to pursue reforms that historically have been blocked during Republican Senate control, particularly since Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already signaled an interest in overhauling the system.

“Tenant protections and truly affordable housing [are] a top priority for many of us,” said state Sen. Mike Gianaris, a Queens Democrat. “We have been getting the ass end of it for the last 24 years since the Senate Republicans put all these loopholes in the law.”

During his primary campaign, Cuomo’s team said he would seek to end a policy known as “vacancy decontrol,” under which rent-regulated apartments leave the system once rents exceed $2,733 per month. A Cuomo administration official also said he would look to curb what are known as “vacancy bonuses,” which allow landlords to increase rents by 20 percent when apartments become vacant, far higher than the annual increases permitted by the Rent Guidelines Board.

The governor’s team also indicated he would seek to limit the costs landlords can pass on to tenants for capital improvements, and reform the policy around preferential rents. Under this practice, landlords can charge a “preferential” amount lower than the rent-stabilized maximum allowance when market conditions in a given neighborhood do not command the full price.

When those areas become gentrified, landlords are allowed to raise the preferential rent to meet the legal limit, resulting in steeper hikes than the annual increase permitted under rent regulation guidelines.

A gubernatorial spokeswoman, Hazel Crampton-Hays, said Cuomo is “committed to working with the new Legislature and the tenant community to build on our record, protect access to affordable housing and advance additional tenant protections, including the elimination of vacancy decontrol and limiting rent increases for building and apartment improvements.”

But the win doesn’t entirely close the door for real estate industry executives seeking to preserve the status quo, particularly since the Real Estate Board of New York and individual developers began funding Senate Democrats and lowering their traditional contributions to Republicans.

REBNY has been funding several individual Democratic senators, including Tim Kennedy and Todd Kaminsky, and is hoping to forge alliances with other moderate Democrats and those representing districts predominantly populated by homeowners.

“There has to be some conversation about bringing down their costs, because if you’re going to freeze their income you have to freeze their expenses or at least talk about runaway costs of being a property owner in New York City,” said state Sen. Diane Savino, a former member of a group of breakaway Democrats that represents Staten Island.

“You’re not going to do everything overnight and the issue of New York City’s rent laws are a lot more complicated than just greedy landlords and beleaguered tenants,” she added.

While election results Tuesday night rang an optimistic note for those pushing for changes, the Senate flip is not a guarantee reforms will pass.

“We cannot just assume this will happen,” said Mike McKee of the housing advocacy group Tenants PAC. “The real estate industry is going to be walking around with their checkbooks trying to get support for their position.”

Democrats like Savino are real estate’s best hope if Cuomo veers left on these issues during Albany negotiations next year. The state Assembly has long been a supporter of overhauling the rent laws.

“No one is a greater champion of stronger rent laws than the Assembly majority and that will not change,” Speaker Carl Heastie said through a spokesman. “Protecting tenants and ensuring decent, affordable housing is critical to New York’s future. In the Assembly, we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that all citizens have access to affordable, quality housing.”