Rent Reforms Passed in New York State

[Mark Ostertag]

Hello Biggerpockets!

The legislation proposed in New York passed on Friday 6/14. The two below articles have related information and I have some related questions. Please add other related

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2019/06/new-york-housing-tenants-universal-rent-control

https://ny.curbed.com/2019/6/14/18679507/rent-regulation-new-york-state-reform-legislation-passed

I'm in Rochester, NY and looking to invest locally where I can oversee my properties with a reasonable drive.

Does this primarily impact only unethical landlords? As in, if you're following the generally touted advice that I hear (take good care of your property and tenants, screen tenants thoroughly, evict for non-payment quickly, run it like a business), will this impact you?

Should I now wait to invest to see how this legislation impacts others? (I'm thinking not, but this certainly makes me nervous.)

Based on the legislation, can we still evict for non-payment, abuse of the property, or illegal activity in a reasonable period of time? (I saw a note about a judging staying an eviction for up to a year for certain reasons - highly alarming.)

What parts of this are in effect in Rochester? (I've seen posts indicating that this impacts NYC now and only other parts of the state if they elect to adopt it.)

I realize we may not have these answers yet, but I'd like to get the conversation started.

[JD DiGiacomandrea]

So specifically in the Rochester NY market I feel if you invest following some simple guidelines you can still be successful. I invest with the purpose of providing good housing for good people. I enjoyed a nice, stable place to grow up and want to help provide that for people who don't want to own, or can't own. While the rent control laws are enacted, and the tenants rights rules are flushed out in court (how judges rule on cases) we will have to wait and see, but as it was said before, the majority of tenants are good, and you just need to ensure your screening process is sound. 

These changes will create some new niche markets, such as those for tenants who can't meet the new stricter guidelines, where there could be bad people/landlord/PM trying to take advantage of them. This is where I see the tenant rights laws being beneficial, and eventually, 5-10 years down the road some investors that wanted to take advantage of our area due to low prices and high rents, will choose to move out and us locals can step in and get some more properties in our portfolios.

This is just my initial set of thoughts, love to hear everyone else.