Rent concessions are discounts given to tenants, perhaps during a pandemic or to speed a new building’s lease-up. Simple concept, right? Except in New York, where they have become a nightmare. This is a story about overzealous lawmakers, unintended consequences and ambulance chasers. It begins with an issue legislators addressed in the 2019 rent reform: Landlords could legally jack up a rent-stabilized tenant’s discounted rent, no justification needed. For example, if the maximum rent were $1,800 but the landlord were charging a preferential rent of $1,200, he could offer a lease renewal for $1,800 and refuse to accept less, forcing […]

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