A successful New York City landlord’s high-flying career has come to a spectacular end after he was arrested at dawn and indicted on 20 felony charges. He is now looking at 25 years in jail.
Harassing Tenants
Steve Croman has made a fortune in recent years buying up buildings in Manhattan’s more gentrified areas. As a result of his success, Croman has been mixing with the social elite and enjoying a prestigious lifestyle. Unfortunately, he has now been accused of harassing tenants into leaving their rent controlled homes and inflating his rental income in order to take out fraudulent loans worth millions of dollars, so at this point in time, it really isn’t looking good for Croman.
Rent Controls in NYC
Rental properties in NYC are strictly rent-controlled. Landlords can’t raise rents unless a tenant voluntarily moves out and the property requires substantial renovation. Understandably, this creates a problem for landlords who own buildings with long-standing tenants.
Whereas in the UK, a landlord can put the rent up if market conditions change, NYC landlords don’t have the same freedom. However, there is not a lot they can do about this and quite clearly, hiring a corrupt cop to threaten tenants into leaving (as Croman is accused of doing), is a one-way ticket to a prison.
As the Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said,
“My message to unscrupulous landlords is simple: if you put your own profits over your tenants’ legal protections, we will investigate you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
