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When you shell out $5.4 billion for thousands of apartments in Manhattan, some of them rent-regulated, clearly the next course of action is to oot out the illegal subletters. The NY Sun reports that private detective Fred Knapp has been hired by Tishman-Speyer to find out if tenants are violating rent stabilization rules.
The Real Estate Board of New York says this is exactly what landlords should be doing, but housing advocates point out that there's simply a lack of affordable housing in the city. NY ACORN's Bertha Lewis says she's worried that Berkshire, purchaser of Starrett City, will use private investigators to find illegal subletters. And City Councilman Daniel Garodnick who lives in Stuy Town is worried that innocent tenants will be targeted.
Knapp, according to a 1988 NY Times article, does not wear a trench coat and mainly looks at public records in "damp basements and dusty side rooms of county courthouses." He's been able to find violations by dog licenses, lawsuits, voter registration records, marriage records, DMV info, and forwarding addresses at post offices. And Knapp has created a scoring system to figure out which tenants might need more scrutiny. Here's the 1988 version:
An apartment renting for more than $200 below the market rate gets 2 points under Mr. Knapp's system, while a unit renting for less than $200 below the market rate gets 1. (The more points, the more suspect the apartment.) Studios rate a 2, while one-bedroom units get 1 point and two-bedrooms get none. (Single people are more mobile than families.) Male tenants receive 1 point, and female tenants none. If a tenant is 25 to 35 years old, the apartment gets 2 points; if he or she is 45 to 65 years old, the unit earns no points.Per a Times article last month about the growing demand for private investigators sniffing out illegal subletters, if you're illegally subletting your place, don't fall for the "We want to ship you a case of wine" trick!A tenant who is a professional merits 2 points. Other occupations earn 1 point, except for government jobs, which get none. (''Most people in government don't move,'' Mr. Knapp said.) The work is hardly grist for Dashiell Hammett. Most inquiries take just a few weeks and involve searching commonplace sources. There are no late-night adventures in search of an errant spouse or a stolen piece of Oriental sculpture.
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Lots of affordable housing in the outter boroughs people.
I consider my self a tenant advocate, but am all for evicting illegal subletters (and any other pain in the ass that gives the rest of us a bad name). However, given the market rate of Manhattan apartments, the $200 cut off point is ridiculous. Let's say a studio in these buildings is market $2400 or $2500, and someone is only paying $2200??! Oh, the scandal!
I also love the bias against young, single, educated professionals (especially men). I happen to be a female in this age range, and resent the idea that some old dude would "keep an eye" on me because I didn't choose to get married or breed. Hopefully by the time this craziness reaches the outer boroughs, I will be in the "safe" age range.
Um, that $200 amount is from 1988. I'm sure they've updated their criteria.
Um, that $200 amount is from 1988. I'm sure they've updated their criteria.
Now lets get rid of people abusing rent stabilization and regulations elsewhere also.
Didn't the old owners try something like creating electronic keys that they would only give to the leaseholder physically as a way to find illegals? Or was that another building? Or did I just make that up?
Ah, I stand corrected! I wonder what the new amount is?
I always wonder if they are going to kick out the old Met Life mistresses- knew of one who had a 5 bedroom place. Not bad as a pied a terre in the 1970s.
As a legal renter who benefits from RS laws, I'm all for cracking down on illegal subletters. I have nothing to hide and willfully show my finances yearly to live in a RS building. They can investigate all they want because they'll find nothing. Hell, investigate me yearly if you want.
Not just during the initial application.
Only problem is, What took them so long?
The people who have been doing this for years have paid for a second home already. So, if they get evicted they have a home to go to. Unlike myself.
But then I'm not abusing the "system".
God this stuff is annoying. Rent stabilization ups the rents for the rest of us: it's simple supply and demand. Get rid of it altogether and stop making my rent higher.
Why won't 'housing advocates' actually advocate things that will help people? Don't they get that someone ends up paying for this?
This is why you have class action lawsuits, a private detective agency has no right to do this under anti-stalking laws.