Cuomo Backpedals on Rent Reforms After Entering Mayoral Race

As his mayoral campaign takes shape, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is backpedaling on his own 2019 rent reform laws, a sticking point for some in the real estate industry supporting his run.

In a closed-door meeting with the executive committee of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) last week, Cuomo “expressed regret” about the tenant-friendly housing bill he approved as governor, Politico reported.

The 2019 law, called the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, considerably curtailed power from landlords of rent-regulated buildings in New York City and restricted rent increases on those apartments.

The laws also prevent landlords from raising the rent to market value on recently vacated rent-regulated apartments and limit the amount that owners could pass on to tenants for individual apartment improvements (IAIs) and major capital improvements (MCIs). 

But now, Cuomo said he believes the laws “excessively limited allowed rent increases tied to apartment building repairs,” Politico reported.

“While well intentioned, the 2019 bill had unintended consequences in some places — specifically changes involving MCI and IAI repairs,” a spokesperson for Cuomo said in a statement to Commercial Observer. “There’s been widespread acknowledgement of these issues, which subsequently were the subject of legislative tweaks.”

“We appreciate the Governor meeting with us and outlining his vision for New York City’s future,” REBNY President James Whelan said in a statement. (REBNY largely opposed the tenant-protection bill in 2019.)

Since its passing, the rent reform law has been a subject of contention for many real estate executives in the city, some of whom call the legislation the “Housing Destruction Act” and claim the laws were a “major blow to landlords and developers,” as CO previously reported. The laws were blamed for slashing the values of rent-regulated buildings by 30 to 50 percent since 2018, CO previously reported.

And as Cuomo hopes to remain the front-runner in the city’s mayoral race against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, he has to think about how voters will value tenant protections and housing policies.

Still, Cuomo is making steady gains against the other candidates for mayor in the June Democratic primary, who include New York City Comptroller Brad Lander; former city Comptroller Scott Stringer; state legislators Zohran Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos; attorney Jim Walden; former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson; New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and former Bronx Assemblymember Michael Blake.

Just 13 days after he announced his candidacy, Cuomo’s campaign had already raised $1.4 million, largely from donations from major real estate figures in the city, such as RXR CEO Scott Rechler and A&E Real Estate Management Chairman Douglas Eisenberg, as CO previously reported.

Cuomo’s massive fundraising haul came as incumbent Adams’s donations plummeted, with the mayor raising only $19,000 in the past two months, the New York Times reported.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.