Real Estate
Multimillion Dollar Listings
LIC among most expensive neighborhoods in NYC
BY EMILY DAVENPORT A Long Island City ZIP
code found itself
among the most ex-pensive
neighborhoods
in the entire city during
the first half of the year, according to
a new report.
PropertyClub recently released a report
that found the top 100 most expensive
neighborhoods in New York City during
the first half of 2019. While a number of
Manhattan neighborhoods rounded out
the mostly expensive neighborhoods, Long
Island City’s 11109 ZIP code found itself at
number 11, making it the most expensive
neighborhood outside of Manhattan.
According to PropertyClub’s findings,
a total of five home sales closed in the
11109 ZIP code during the first half
of the year, all of which were located
What Do New York’s
New Rent Laws
Mean to You?
14 SEPTEMBER 2019 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
at 46-30 Center Blvd., also known as
The View at East Coast. The units sold
for a combined dollar volume of $11
million, making the median sale price
for LIC was $2.1 million during the first
half of 2019.
The analysis found that the influx of
new luxury developments in Long Island
City are contributing to the rising prices
in the neighborhood.
PropertyClub cites Long Island City’s
growing popularity to the spark of investor
interest in the area following the pro-posed
plans to bring Amazon’s HQ2 to the
neighborhood. While those plans ended
up falling through, several residential and
commercial developments did move for-ward
in the area, including Skyline Tower,
located at 3 Court Sq., which will rise in
2021 as the tallest building in the borough.
Visit propertyclub.com to read the
full report.
With roughly 65 percent of New York City residents
living in a rental home, chances are good that
the sweeping reforms enacted earlier this year in
Albany with the New York State Housing Stability
and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 will have some
effect on you.
While landlords grimaced and tenant advocacy
groups cheered, many New Yorkers only vaguely
understand the new law. Setting aside the vice or
virtue of the Act, it’s going to impact your wallet if
you are a landlord or a tenant. In addition to
extending and revising rent stabilization laws, the
Act is meant to help tenants whether they rent in a
private home, a rental building, or a co-op or condo.
Security Landlords may only collect one month’s
rent and a security deposit equal to one month’s
rent. That practice of first and last months’ rent plus
security is no longer legal. Further, landlords are
prohibited from collecting a special “pet” deposit,
though there doesn’t appear to be a prohibition
of added rent to cover wear and tear from pets in
non-stabilized leases. It is not legal to charge added
rent for service or emotional-support animals.
Landlords must now return security to tenants
within 14 days of a tenant’s vacancy. Landlords
must request an opportunity to inspect the
premises at least two weeks prior to the tenant’s
departure. Landlords must provide an itemized
list of discovered damages, and give the tenant
to opportunity to make repairs prior to vacating
the premises and forfeiting some or all of the
security. Landlords must itemize the repair costs
and provide to the tenant – any funds not needed
to cover the repairs must be returned to the tenant.
Security cannot be used for “wear and tear.”
Notice Requirements Landlords are now
required to provide advance written notice to
tenants of whether they intend to increase rent by
5 percent or more of the current rent OR when the
landlord does not intend to offer a renewal. The
notice periods are 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days
for tenants who have rented less than a year, one
to two years, or more than two years, respectively.
If no notice is provided in a timely manner, the
lease will continue under the same terms.
If a Landlord does not receive rent within five
days of its due date, the landlord must send via
certified mail a written notice advising tenant that
rent has not been received. Failure to provide such
notice can be used by a tenant as a defense in any
eviction proceeding. Additionally, fees for late rent
are now capped at the lesser of $50 or 5 percent
of the monthly rent.
Credit Check and Application Fees The Act
capped fees on credit and background checks at
the lesser of $20 or the actual cost of conducting
the check. The law also now prohibits the
review of prior landlord-tenant legal disputes. This
provision has caused quite a bit of confusion as
to how it is applied and what is permitted. Many
brokers and large landlords have determined the
best way to comply with the law is to charge a
$20 fee, per applicant or guarantor, that includes
the credit check fee. Tenants should receive a
receipt showing the exact cost of the credit check
component of the application.
If you are a landlord or a tenant unsure of your
rights and responsibilities, please consult your
attorney or a tenant advocacy group for further
guidance. You can connect with Robert Whalen at
robert@halstead.com
Robert Whalen
Executive Director of Sales
Halstead Real Estate
47-12 Vernon Blvd, LIC, NY
Photo via Getty Images
/www.qns.com
link
/www.qns.com
/propertyclub.com
link
