Rent-stabilized apartments in New York are the bane of their landlords, gnashing their teeth like the rats they unleash to drive out unwanted tenants.

Renters at 706 Riverside Drive just won a lengthy legal battle against Pinnacle who wanted to charge new renters $2000 in building where most of the people paid $600. To justify the increase, Pinnacle claimed thousands of dollars of improvements. Improvements that were never made. In perusing the hundreds of documents the housing company submitted, tenants found:

• $1,029 for 100 gallons of latex paint and $454 for 45 gallons of ceramic adhesive. Enough paint and adhesive for an entire building.
• $336 for five toilet flushometers. The apartment has only two bathrooms, and the existing flushometers showed no signs of recent replacement.
• $169 for 240 light bulbs – 80 per apartment.

Under state law, a landlord can raise an apartments rent by one-fortieth of the improvement cost.

“Phony Repairs Add to Abuse” [NY Daily News]

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