4% Increase when 40 million are out of the job!

https://streeteasy.com/talk/discussion/44001-double-digit-rent-hikes-after-two-years

You didn't move out two years ago?

If you're willing to begin the nightmare of moving again, moving costs, and resettling all that you have become accustomed to at your current location then go for it!

But in the grand scheme of things... 4% isn't that bad when you consider all of that which I mentioned above. I am not supporting it, I am just telling you what they are counting on. You may think it is vicious, others consider it very savvy business sense.

Not pay the rent? umm... there will obviously be consequences to that, I don't think those consequences need to be mentioned if you're the kind of tenant who posts on these boards. Just cuz they can't evict you doesn't mean you don't owe them.

do renters forget that they provide their social security numbers to landlords when they lease an apartment? good luck getting a credit card, borrowing money or doing anything that requires a credit check if you go on a rent strike. everything has consequences including a rent strike.

So move:

https://ny.curbed.com/2020/5/18/21257074/nyc-rent-tenant-landlord-moving-apartment-coronavirus

"On listing website Localize.city, for instance, rents have fallen for 70 percent of apartments listed prior to the statewide stay-at-home order, which went into effect on March 20, according to data gathered by the company.

Those prices have reduced on apartments in all five boroughs with an overall drop in rents between three to five percent: One-bedrooms in Brooklyn on the market before COVID-19 mandated closures, for example, have seen a 4.3 percent decrease in rents on average to $2,700, while across the East River in Manhattan, one-bedroom units have typically seen a 2.4 percent drop, with average rents now at $3,780, according to Localize.city data.

Those may not be mind-blowing reductions, but they’re a signal that rents are trending downward, and likely to continue doing so in the midst of the city’s public health crisis, says Steven Kalifowitz, president of Localize.city."

(and good additional comments from Jonathan Miller and Noah Rosenblatt)

if you're going to try a rent strike, at least do it in style:

https://nypost.com/2020/05/19/non-eviction-order-leads-to-squatting-in-style-in-the-hamptons/

There was a multi-family panel last week where all the owners were saying they are doing whatever they can to retain paying tenants. Right now I think getting in pissing contests with tenants is a huge mistake for any owner. Not only can't you evict anyone anyway right now, who knows if that will get extended again and when the scope of the problems that is creating is fully realised we may see some forced rent forgiveness (unless people think the city is going to allow 250,000 or more people to be thrown out). And when the courts do reopen they are going to be so crowded who knows how long cases will take.

Moving costs very little. I have nothing very large that I cannot move with my son in a rented UHaul...

4% is a lot when rents are going down.

Unemployment rate will hit a peak of 25 to 30% and to regain the previous level of unemployment may take up to ten years.

I find larger apartments in most European cities for a lower price than what I am paying now so I will go with my wife to spend a year in different European cities. I can work for anywhere and all I need is a laptop, a printer, a phone number and zoom.