Thread by @luisferre

UPDATED:

New York landlords, balking at new rent laws, have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the entire rent-regulation system as unconstitutional.

nytimes.com/2019/07/16/nyr…

They're betting on taking the case to the Supreme Court, which has historically upheld rent regulations. But landlords are hoping a new conservative majority and recent rulings will buttress their lawsuit.

Getting there would take years. And Supreme Court accepts to hear a small portion of cases it is asked to review each year. They most recently, in 2012, declined to hear the case brought by James Harmon, a landlord from the Upper West Side.
nytimes.com/2012/04/24/us/…

The lawsuit argues regulations are unconstitutional because they violate the 14th Amendment's due process clause and 5th Amendment's takings clause, which says private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.

Part of their rationale for unlawful taking of property w/o just compensation: A rent-regulated landlord is usually required to renew the lease of tenants and sometimes forced to accept below-market rents.

But an appeals court in 2011 ruled against that argument when Harmon made it:

The 125-page suit, however, makes a slew of other arguments against rent regulations, including that it actually exacerbates housing and that it's a regulatory taking.

Tenant advocates, however, say that the lawsuit is partly a way to stoke panic among tenants. They say it stands no chance in court given past rulings. And that it's ironic landlords are pouring money into a frivolous suit when buildings are supposedly cash-strapped.