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AG James sues landlords over rent-stabilized building violations

Most owners when contacted by the AG that their building is rent stabilized try to do the right thing & comply. The ones being reported on are what happens when owners choose to defy court orders and fail to follow the law. therealdeal.com/new-york/202...

therealdeal.com

Attorney General Letitia James brings suits against Brooklyn owners, alleging illegal evictions and tenant harassment.

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This justice gap is why the de facto compliance program was created. At the end of this week we'll have added 103 units into rent stabilization and stopped 26 impermissible evictions in its first year of existence.

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The problem was there is no follow up after the court decision. The courts don't independently follow up. Most tenant advocates & the limited funding streams that support them are primarily focused on triage & often can't do the important organizing work to ensure compliance after the crisis ends.

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Rent Regulation in Defacto & Horizontal Multiple Dwellings

If your curious about de facto rent stabilization I did a training for Housing Court Answers to inform owners and tenants about the issue back in March at housingcourtanswers.org/workshop/ren...

housingcourtanswers.org

Presented by Justin La Mort, Office of NYS Attorney General

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De facto rs applies to buildings built before 1974 in NYC & were exempt for having 5 or fewer units but after 74 have units added that make it 6 or more. At that point the entire building is covered by tenant protections such as right to renew & prohibitions on price gouging.

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After reviewing dozens of de facto rent stabilization decisions and cross referencing rent registration records this turned out to be true. The vast majority of buildings found by a court or DHCR to be de facto rent stabilized were never registered and treated as such.

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Brooklyn landlords hid rent-stabilized units from tenants, NY attorney general says

This is one of my projects. My theory was that owners who broke the law & created illegal units that would qualify a building as de facto rent stabilized would also be more likely to ignore court orders. gothamist.com/news/brookly...

gothamist.com

Attorney General Letitia James said tenants were charged market rents for units that should have been subject to rent regulation.

Justin La Mort @lamort.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

The concept of the firm was inspired by a disbarred attorney who was busted for running a ponzi scheme. The settlement details how the firm violated the NY Rules of Professional Conduct & misled tenants in signing up for their services. The settlement can be found at ag.ny.gov/sites/defaul...

ag.ny.gov

Justin La Mort @lamort.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

This is one of my cases. The Tenants Counsel Network used deceptive marketing and provided few results aimed at tenants facing eviction. As part of the deal the firm will close down and refund $172k back to the tenants.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 08/03/2026

Reposted by Justin La Mort

There's something deeply obscene and broken about the fact that Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth are bombing elementary schools in an illegal war of aggression, and there's still a sense among the opposition that it has to be explained in terms of gas prices in order to get American voters to care.

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Reposted by Justin La Mort

New York Attorney General Letitia James @newyorkstateag.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

A Rochester landlord failed to inform low-income families of their rights before forcing them out of their homes for reconstruction. My office secured compensation for these residents and we're ensuring they can return to their homes. I'll always fight for tenants in New York.

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Reposted by Justin La Mort

Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 28/01/2026

The amount of money the US government spent on troops in DC in 2025 ($223m) would have been enough to give the city's ~5,100 homeless residents each $43,000. Instead, federal troops destroyed their meager encampments.

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Reposted by Justin La Mort

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Imagine how much they’d be lying about what happened without all the videos showing it from multiple angles.

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Reposted by Justin La Mort

Greg Jarrell @gregjarrell.com · 04/01/2026

Our politics have become so bleak that this effort from Mamdani feels almost otherworldly, as though it cannot be real that someone in government is showing concern for poor people.

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Reposted by Justin La Mort

New York Attorney General Letitia James @newyorkstateag.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

BlueSky, a real estate company, consistently forced tenants to live in dangerous and unsanitary conditions, putting the safety of families at risk. We secured over $672,000 from BlueSky to put money back into New Yorkers’ pockets and require safer and cleaner buildings.

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Reposted by Justin La Mort

New York Attorney General Letitia James @newyorkstateag.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

My office and NYS HCR are suing Peak, a real estate developer, for illegally deregulating rent stabilized apartments in New York City. Peak deceived tenants and housing regulators to line their pockets and overcharge New Yorkers as affordable housing grew more scarce.

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Reposted by Justin La Mort

David F Brand @davidfbrand.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Mamdani names his transition team housing committee

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Reposted by Justin La Mort

Kate Howell @drkatehowell.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

In case any dc council members were curious about what this looks like…

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Reposted by Justin La Mort

Amy Sundberg @amysundberg.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

'In limiting spending on long-term housing to just 30 percent of the $3.5 billion in aid — from about 90 percent this year — the Trump plan would deal a crippling blow to a movement called Housing First."

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Reposted by Justin La Mort

Alliance for Housing Justice @aforhj.org · 13/11/2025

Their 50-year mortgage plan bombed & they won’t build housing or touch Wall Street landlords, so they’re hoping you blame your high rent on immigrants.

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Reposted by Justin La Mort

The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 07/11/2025

New York millionaires: threatening to flee the city since 2009

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Justin La Mort @lamort.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

NYC is full of nerds. The municipal archives gave 1 day notice of a two day book sale. Here is what’s left of the NYC history and politics table after the first 2 hours.

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<NY Post for the next 2 months> Mayor Commdani, who 1,019,870 real New Yorkers voted against, is to blame for _______.

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NYC voters approve ballot measures meant to speed up new housing

In the greatest city of the world, voters approved all 3 contentious initiatives that will change the power dynamics of building housing in NYC. @davidfbrand.bsky.social with a good summary at gothamist.com/news/nyc-vot... (10)

gothamist.com

The four ballot questions will shorten the city’s land use review process and give developers a chance to challenge rejections.

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Littleton Ballot Question 3A: Voters favor new restrictions on homebuilding

More Colorado news. Littleton, with 55%, enshrined single-family zoning in the city’s charter. This was in response to proposed duplexes and will put the city at odds with Gov. Polis Executive Order that would steer $ away from cities that prohibit new housing. (9) coloradosun.com/2025/11/04/l...

coloradosun.com

The Littleton city charter amendment would enshrine single-family zoning in the city’s charter and stymie local efforts to add density. Elsewhere, voters in Louisville defeated measures to make it har...

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Fact check: Santa Cruz’s Measure C tax initiative - Santa Cruz Local

Santa Cruz is voting on Measure C that would create a property transfer tax and parcel tax to fund affordable housing development and homelessness services. Polls are still open but here is a really good primer on the debate. (8) santacruzlocal.org/2025/11/04/f...

santacruzlocal.org

Santa Cruz Local evaluated campaign claims from those advocating for and against the City of Santa Cruz ballot initiative Measure C.

coloradohometownweekly.com

Voters in Louisville, CO rejected by 75% ballot Measure 300 that would raise the % of affordable housing that must come with new developments & Measure 301 higher fees for those developers. They'll be some interesting YIMBY takes on this loss. (7) www.coloradohometownweekly.com/2025/11/04/l...

Louisville voters deny Ballot Questions 300 and 301 in early election results

Louisville’s Ballot Questions 300 and 301 deal with affordable housing, zoning and the fees property developers pay to the city.

Bond Issue to Fund Housing and Shelter Projects Measure

Denver's Ballot Issue 2E is a $59.3M in bonds to repair & improve housing to reduce rent & support affordability, provide affordable housing on city facilities, & improve shelters to make them safer & accessible to people with disabilities. Currently Yes is at 62%. (6) denvergov.org/Government/E...

denvergov.org

Ballot Issue 2E

Voters in Knoxville TN rejected a proposal to raise the sales tax by 1/2 cent with $10M dedicated to easing the affordable housing crisis by 62%. (5) www.wbir.com/article/news...

wbir.com

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OKC bond election: Landslide votes for all 11 propositions

While this happened last month I feel I should highlight voters in Oklahoma City approved Prop 5 $175M bond for economic development & affordable housing programs with 75% of the vote. I'm curious to compare election results between bonds and taxes. (4) freepressokc.com/okc-bond-ele...

freepressokc.com

Residents of the City of Oklahoma City turned in strong votes for all projects in the 2025 General Obligation Bond package that totals $2.7 billion.

Columbus bond issues — Ohio 2025 General Election results, live updates

Columbus OH is the 15th largest city & is voting on large bond package that includes Issue 8 which dedicates $500M for neighborhood development & affordable housing, including income-qualified rental & affordable home ownership opportunities. Yes at 67% but early. (3) www.10tv.com/article/news...

10tv.com

Mayor Andrew Ginther and Columbus City Council placed the bond package that would allow the city to borrow up to $1.9 billion for a range of public projects.

Inside the race for Cleveland Housing Court

Cleveland, unlike NYC, votes for the Housing Court judge that oversees eviction cases and housing violations. Fascinating to see what an open election for this important role looks like with a nice summary by @nickcastele.bsky.social. (2) signalcleveland.org/cleveland-ho...

signalcleveland.org

Judge W. Moná Scott faces a challenge from Cheryl Wiltshire in the court that oversees evictions and housing code violations.

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