New York Landlord-Tenant Court

One side effect of Manhattan rent control is that it creates a source of litigation that wouldn’t exist under a market-based system. When a tenant has a right to rent a 2800-sq. ft. SoHo loft for a few hundred dollars a month, it means that it’s worth holding a seventeen-day trial to determine whether the […]

One side effect of Manhattan rent control is that it creates a source of litigation that wouldn’t exist under a market-based system. When a tenant has a right to rent a 2800-sq. ft. SoHo loft for a few hundred dollars a month, it means that it’s worth holding a seventeen-day trial to determine whether the tenant is using the loft as her primary residence. If the tenant, who owns multiple pieces of real estate in New Hampshire, was paying market rents, then whether she was using the loft as a primary residence would be legally and economically irrelevant, and the trial would never have happened. Imagine how much is lost because New York City tenants and landlords litigate thousands of “holdover” cases every year. (Dennis Hevesi, “The Knottiest Cases of Landlord v. Tenant”, New York Times, Nov. 9; Henry Pollakowski, “Who Really Benefits from New York City?s Rent Regulation System?”, Manhattan Institute Civic Report, March 2003).

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