Real Rent Reform Campaign

We believe that housing is a human right; that all people should live without the fear of eviction; and that strengthening renters’ rights is critical to strong neighborhoods, educational and health outcomes, and economic stability for all New Yorkers. Over the course of the 20th century, New Yorkers across the state have benefited from various forms of rent control, which protects tenants’ from unjust evictions and arbitrary rent increases. Now, however, that system has been eroded so much that it only applies to tenants in 8 counties, and has been weakened with loopholes that encourage tenant harassment and allow sudden and permanent rent hikes. Since 1994, we have lost nearly 300,000 units of affordable, rent stabilized housing. 5 million New Yorkers have no renter protections whatsoever—simply because of where or what kind of housing they live in. Every tenant in New York, no matter where they live, deserves the same basic protections.
In 2019, New York State’s renter protection fr…

'Cuomo, We're at War!' Brooklyn Tenants Demand Rent Control (Brooklyn Reader) Jan 24, 2019 Could New York City-style rent control be coming to Upstate NY? (Syracuse) Jan 24, 2019Democratic lawmakers want to reform upstate rent laws (times union)Jan 23, 2019
Tenant Justice March to Take Place in Williamsburg on Wednesday, Part of Nationwide Effort (greenpoint post) Jan 22, 2019
New York landlords rush rent hikes ahead of housing reforms (the Real Deal) Jan 22, 2019
What’s not in Cuomo’s budget? (city and state) Jan 16, 2019
A Rent Regulation Fight Is Brewing in Albany (commercial observer) Jan 15, 2019
How rent regulation depends on closing the LLC loophole (city and state) Jan 3, 2019
Commentary: Time to open paths of opportunity to communities of color(times union)

The Upstate-Downstate Housing Alliance is fighting for greater tenant protections for all New York residents. We believe that housing is a human right; that all people should live without the fear of eviction; and that strengthening renters’ rights is critical to strong neighborhoods, education and health, and economic stability for all New Yorkers. 
For more than 70 years, New Yorkers across the state have benefited from various forms of rent control, which protects tenants from unjust evictions and arbitrary rent increases. Now, however, that system has been eroded so much that it only applies to tenants in eight counties. It has been weakened with loopholes that encourage tenant harassment and allow sudden and permanent rent hikes. Since 1994, we have lost nearly 300,000 units of affordable, rent-stabilized housing. Five million renters in New York State have no protections whatsoever. 
Every tenant in New York, no matter where they live, deserves the same basic protections. 
In 201…

Tenants Brave Snow to March for Stronger Rent Laws
By: Kathleen Wakeham Published: December 2018


On the evening of Nov. 15, hundreds of tenants braved fast-falling snow and rivers of slush in Lower Manhattan to demand that the state Legislature enact stronger tenant-protection laws when Democrats take control in the coming session. The march, organized by Housing Justice for All, a coalition including the Upstate/Downstate Housing Alliance and the Real Rent Reform campaign, began with a rally at Bowling Green. Nova Lucero of the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, a former Met Council organizer, led chants of “Si se puede” and “La renta sube sube, el pueblo sufre sufre,” to the beat of drumming on orange plastic buckets. It ended at the offices of the Rent Stabilization Association, a landlord lobbying group, at 123 William St. “Elected officials need to know that we want them to fight for us, for our voices to be heard, and for universal rent control for all of New York …

Democrats, WFP Roll to Strong Majority in State Senate
By: Kenny Schaeffer from Jessica Ramos for New York State SenateWith turnout up almost 50 percent from four years ago, voters in New York State elected a strong Democratic-Working Families majority to the state Senate on November 6, ending more than five decades of total or de facto Republican control.  Following the rout of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) in the September 12 primary, the results mean that, when the new legislature is seated in January, real Democrats under the progressive leadership of Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Yonkers will have a majority of as much as 39-24 in the Senate, counting Simcha Felder of Brooklyn with the Republicans.  This is great news for tenants in New York City and around the state, who have seen rent and eviction protections gutted by the legislature over the past 25 years, causing the loss of hundreds of thousands of affordable units and triggering unprecedented homelessness and affo…

IDC arrasada Seis de los ocho demócratas renegados del Senado estatal derrotados en las elecciones primarias
By: Michael McKee
Published: October 2018 from Tenant/inquillino
Traducido por Lightning Translation


La multitud en la Bronx Ale House estalló en aplausos y gritos. Algunos bailaban o saltaban, aunque el bar estaba tan lleno que eso bien hubiera podido lesionar a alguien. Todos los ojos estaban enfocados en una de varias pantallas de televisión, algunas sintonizadas a New York 1, otras a Bronx News 12.  Cuando se declaró quién era la vencedora en la elección primaria para el distrito 34 del Senado estatal, la reacción fue ensordecedora. Alessandra Biaggi había ganado sorprendentemente el escaño de Bronx-Westchester al titular Jeff Klein, al ganar con el 55 por ciento de la votación.  Klein fue el fundador de la Conferencia Demócrata Independiente (Independent Democratic Conference, IDC), un grupo de senadores renegados que hicieron un arreglo para repartirse el poder con los rep…

IDC Wiped Out Six of the Eight Turncoat State Senate Democrats Go Down in Primary
By: Michael McKee
Published: October 2018/Tenant/Inquillino


The crowd at the Bronx Ale House erupted in cheers and shouts. Some danced or jumped up and down, although the bar was so crowded that could have gotten someone hurt. Every eye was focused on one of several video screens, some tuned to New York 1, some to Bronx News 12.  When the victor in the primary for the 34th state Senate district was declared, the response was deafening. Alessandra Biaggi had upset incumbent Jeff Klein for the Bronx-Westchester seat, winning 55 percent of the vote.  Klein was the founder of the Independent Democratic Conference, a group of rogue senators who entered into a power-sharing arrangement with the Republicans that enabled the GOP to keep control of the chamber even during the two years (2013-2014) when the Democrats held a 33-30 majority. They claimed credit for some progressive half-measures and things that a De…