UNYTE
Union of New York Tenants
Tenants Unite!
New York is under assault from developers and landlords. Our legal rights and protections have been eroded, loopholes have been exploited and there is little or no regulatory oversight. Affordable housing that sustains communities is rapidly disappearing. We are in crisis.
Landlords and developers have organized; so must we. The 1947 rent regulations were designed to address the shortage of affordable housing and preserve the diversity of our neighborhoods. We demand the strengthening of those laws and their equitable and uniform enforcement. We demand administrative transparency and accountability, the closing of loopholes and the right to live secure in our homes free of intimidation, predatory litigation, abuse and fear.
There are two million rental units in New York City.
Together, tenants are a political force that cannot be ignored.
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Affordable housing is disappearing in NYC:
- NYC lost 9,272 stabilized units in 2005, a 50% increase over 2002 (NYC Rent Guidelines Board)
- The number of median-income affordable units fell from 58% to 48% (Furman Center, NYU)
- Median rent increased by 20% while median income fell by 6.3% between 2002 and 2005 (Furman)
- For the first time in history the median share of income spent on rent has exceeded the 30% maximum burden a family should bear (Furman)
- Low income unsubsidized renters now pay over 50% of their income in rent, up from 43.9% in 2002 (Furman)
- Homelessness increased by 11% last year, by 17% among families (Coalition for the Homeless)
Landlords are harassing tenants to benefit from the housing shortage and a high-end market:
- using the owner-occupancy clause to evict an entire building for the landlord's personal use
- using Department of Housing and Community Renewal's "phony demolition" loophole to move to evict tenants
- transforming occupied housing into construction sites
- taking tenants with little or no resources to court on false pretenses until they can no longer afford to fight
- depriving essential services like heat and hot water
- damaging intercoms, removing front doors to buildings, changing locks, changing apartment numbers, threatening
- lock-outs, challenging rights to succession, falsely claiming lack of access for repairs, etc.
- suing outspoken tenants to undermine their right to speak out and seek redress
City agencies, policies, lax enforcement and loopholes encourage landlords to harass
- NYC lost 9,272 stabilized units in 2005, a 50% increase over 2002 (NYC Rent Guidelines Board)
- The number of median-income affordable units fell from 58% to 48% (Furman Center, NYU)
- Median rent increased by 20% while median income fell by 6.3% between 2002 and 2005 (Furman)
- For the first time in history the median share of income spent on rent has exceeded the 30% maximum burden a family should bear (Furman)
- Low income unsubsidized renters now pay over 50% of their income in rent, up from 43.9% in 2002 (Furman)
- Homelessness increased by 11% last year, by 17% among families (Coalition for the Homeless)