After years of discussion, the Rent Stabilization Commission on March 6 voted unanimously in favor of a resolution recommending the City Council establish a new habitability inspection program.
If approved by the City Council, the amendments to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance will require all rent-stabilized units to be inspected and placed in a tiered system based on the severity of habitability violations, Chair Donna Tryfman said. She added that units must also be inspected after any change of owner. The costs of the program will be split evenly between the landlords and tenants, and tenants and landlords can still lodge complaints with the Rent Stabilization Office.Details of the new program—including the scope of the three tiers and the inspection standards, still need to be ironed out—but adopting the resolution allows the commission to begin working through that process, Tryfman said.
