Socialist lawmakers are still pushing statewide rent control, resorting to outright deception and bogus compromise in hopes of passing it before the Legislature wraps up for the year.
To sneak through the so-called “Good Cause Eviction” bill, they offer to water down some provisions to attract more votes — with an eye to toughen it back up (or worse) next year or late.
The lies start with the bill’s very name: Requiring landlords to have a good reason to evict anyone is fair, right?
Except that the bill would make it near-impossible for landlords to evict tenants for almost any reason.
And it caps rent hikes on now-market-rate units at 3%, or 150% of the consumer price index — numbers the left would aim to ratchet down (to zero or, heck, even lower) once the “principle” of universal rent control is enshrined in state law.
Say goodbye to new housing development, despite shortages across the state.
Say hello to poorly maintained buildings, as “good cause” denies landlords sufficient revenue to pay for proper upkeep and improvements.
By the way, there’s no means-testing provision, so the “system” is wide-open to exploitation by the better off: With one-time “finders fees” and insider connections, higher-income folks could readily nab the best deals — not the low-income folks the socialists imagine they’re boosting.
Just as it can cost a small fortune to grab a seriously rent-controlled unit in the city now.
The bill’s misleading name wasn’t its backers’ only deception: In March, a radical group called Housing Justice for All produced a letter supposedly signed by 104 landlords who supported the bill.
Yet The Post found at least 14 who had no properties in the area at all listed under their names, and another 24 with too few units to be affected.
The lies, tricks and even supposed watering-down can’t cover up the core problems with the bill: It’ll just make New York’s housing woes worse.
Lawmakers should avoid any version of it, watered down or not.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
