Brothers Pashko and Tony Lulgjuraj have spent their lives working in building maintenance. After moving as children to the United States as ethnic Albanians from then Yugoslavia, they spent decades working in other people’s buildings (either as a doorman, or as a building superintendent). Eventually, they purchased an apartment building of their own in upper Manhattan. However, because of New York’s Rent Stabilization Law (NYRSL), multiple of the apartments in that building lie vacant—because the NYRSL caps their rents thousands of dollars below the market rate.
Rent on these apartments is capped by law in the hundreds of dollars—for instance, one vacant two-bedroom unit in the building has its rent capped under $700 per month. Pashko and Tony would lose money for years if they rented these apartments. So the apartments sit empty, and they will remain empty indefinitely.
Related Case
Private Property | Rental Caps
NYC Vacant Apartments
Small property owners challenge New York's rent stabilization laws on vacant apartments, which keep tens of thousands of units empty amid a housing crisis.