POLL: New York City’s Rent Stabilization Laws

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Count challenging New York City’s rent stabilization laws.

The case was brought by an Upper West Side couple who rent out six apartments in their five-story brownstone on West 76th Street near Central Park. Three of the apartments are rent stabilized, and for those, the tenants pay about $1,000 a month, 60 percent below market rate, according to the New York Times.

The couple argued that forcing them to accept below-market rents is an unconstitutional taking of their property, while state and city officials countered the regulations as necessary to prevent “rent profiteering” due to the city’s chronic housing shortage, according to the Times.

New York City’s rent regulations, which state lawmakers extended last year, apply to nearly half of its approximately 2.2 million rental apartments. The case does not directly apply to the city’s older rent control law, which applies to far fewer units, according to the Times.

Those against rent regulations often cite cases of affluent tenants paying below-market rents, while proponents argue that the majority of such apartments serve low- and middle-income people, the Times reported.

So what do you think? Should the city get rid of its rent stabilization laws?