As New York’s rental property owners are struggling to survive under the most stringent rent control and tenant protection regime in the U.S. that is made even more challenging given what has been a “difficult at best” economic environment, real estate publication, “The Real Deal” reports “tax lien sales by New York City threaten to worsen the affordable housing crisis” there. So, I ask the question: Can California learn from New York’s mistakes? Unfortunately, I have to say that I sincerely doubt it!

According to The Real Deal, many of New York City’s rent stabilized apartments these days are in financial turmoil. The publication’s May 24, 2025, article reports “pre-1974 rent-stabilized units, mainly in the outer boroughs, now house about 1.7 million New Yorkers, but many of these buildings are in deep financial distress water.” This concern, as the article points out, is a major threat to the city’s available housing stock “especially the smaller ones largely owned by ‘mom and pop’ landlords.” Haven’t we been saying this all along here in California that the majority of rental property owners, well over 85% of rental properties (not units) are owned by independent, moms and pops, who have been struggling to stay in business while restriction after restriction, regulation upon regulation, is imposed and brought to bear in the name of affordable housing and tenant protections?

The Real Deal article also points out: “A good number of landlords have only made ends meet by delaying payments on property taxes and/or water and sewer bills, and city Department of Finance efforts to collect on that debt stand poised to trigger a wave of foreclosures likely to spark a disastrous downward spiral.” New York’s property owners who find themselves in these foreclosure situations, the article points out, “wind up deferring even vital building maintenance; some eventually just walk away, abandoning the property and all its debts; others lose the building to foreclosure.” For those of us in California, that’s just a disaster that may be waiting to happen…government foreclosures for property taxes. Fortunately, we are not quite there…yet, here in California, but it is not farfetched that we might someday end up here.

As we are also beginning to see here in California, New York’s rental housing operators have been dogged by costly climate change initiatives, waste diversion mandates, and eviction moratoriums. It’s just like California! The Real Deal goes on to point out: “This crisis is exacerbated by destructive city and state housing actions — costly climate-change and sanitation mandates, rents never collected after the COVID “eviction moratorium.” The article also notes that lacking vacancy de-control regulations, which we have fortunately preserved here through the defeats of ballot Propositions 10, 21 and 33: “units the landlord has to stop renting because the 2019 state Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act makes it impossible to finance renovations after a long-term tenant finally leaves.” So, as a result, tens of thousands of available rental units sit vacant while the city experiences severe housing shortages because no return on investment exists for owners who might otherwise renovate their vacant units. In some extreme cases, willing tenants pay for renovations under the table in an apparent rental Black Market.

Well, there should be no surprise here New York, New York based upon the way you’ve “squeezed” private property owners…and let this be a warning to you Sacramento as our elected officials are apparently too dense to see a mere few feet in front of themselves…the regulatory climate is slowly killing the housing market and killing us rental housing providers along with it. In fact, this has been a multi-decade decline as housing regulations, and along with them the risk of being in the rental housing business, have increased and been ratcheted-down and become stricter more and more, it is as if we are in some Star Trek themed regulatory environment where legislators are “boldly going where no man has gone before.” Will we ever hit the end of the Universe and see an end to all of the constant and consistent taking of our property rights and dilution of our ability to manage our properties? I sure hope so.

As the New York experience has shown, and as we have been trending in California, costs of operating rental properties have continued to increase, but surprise…surprise, rental income does not keep pace and does not cover ongoing expenses. This is what happens when allowable rent increases are kept below the rate that expenses are rising and our ability to obtain insurance coverage for our business risks (e.g., habitability, discrimination, harassment claims) are diminished. We are in a bold new, scary world and unless we obtain some relief through regulatory balance, the rental housing dam may surely break.

Is there hope? Well, I hope so. We have a great opportunity to right this ship and we can do so quickly if we all take a stand and band together. It all starts with electing politicians who are sympathetic to the needs of people like us to sacrifice and risk our hard-earned money by investing in rental housing, and who will take a balanced approach. Don’t kid yourself…you’ll never see rent stabilization (control) and tenant eviction protections eliminated completely, but we can and absolutely should see some better balance. We have begun to see changes taking place. Here in Los Angeles County, we have a new, tougher on crime District Attorney, and in San Francisco, not only a new District Attorney, but a new more business friendly Mayor, new City Council members and new members of the school board.

The way to make change and elect balanced politicians, and un-elect the socialists we see more and more (including 4 of 15 on the Los Angeles City Council), is to get involved in campaigns and community activities. When your local city council representative holds a community meeting, attend and make your concerns about your situation as a housing provider known. Let them get to know you too.

But, as politics goes here in America, it costs money. And I beg, I cajole, and too often come up short when it comes to support for our political activities. Many did heed the call to support our opposition efforts for November’s Proposition 33 campaign, in fact millions of dollars in support, but when it comes to supporting our efforts during elections of local or state officeholders, I hear silence. A case in point was the last Los Angeles City Council election cycle where we lost a seat to a socialist candidate by, in our estimate, a mere $50,000 or so. That loss along with three other socialist-held seats has cost property owners and businesses in the City of Los Angeles tens of millions of dollars or even more! And, please bear in mind that there are six City of Los Angeles Council seats up for grab in the upcoming cycle – we cannot afford to maximize this opportunity to change our situations in Los Angeles and many other jurisdictions!

Look, I get it. Many of us have struggled lately and are still recovering from COVID-era regulations and losses. But I know, and hear it all the time, that there is a choice to ignore involvement or requests for financial assistance because there’s a belief that someone, perhaps a larger property owner, will do it for you. If there is, and there’s not, someone to cover the burden or time commitment for you, they still could not tell your story, and the unique challenges faced only by you.

So, please help us with your time and by making a financial commitment today to support our Political Action Committee and Legal Fund. Your time and the financial support you give will go a long way to protect your rights as a housing provider. Believe me, your rights and the rights of other members are well worth the investment. Working together, we can fix this.

Written by Daniel Yukelson

Daniel Yukelson is currently the Executive Director of The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA). As a Certified Public Accountant, Yukelson began his career at Ernst & Young, the global accounting firm, and has since served in senior financial roles principally as Chief Financial Officer for various public, private and start-up companies. Prior to joining AAGLA, Yukelson served for 15 years as Chief Financial Officer for Premiere Radio Networks, now a subsidiary of I-Heart Media, and for more than 3 years as Chief Financial Officer of Oasis West Realty, the owner of the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills where he was involved with the development and construction of the Waldorf. Yukelson was formerly Chairperson of the City of Beverly Hills Planning Commission and served on both Beverly Hills’ Planning Commission for 6 years and Public Works Commission for 3 years.