The Journal. · Sunday, September 27, 2026
Emily Issener explained that the 2019 rent law introduced 'vacancy control,' regulating rent even when an apartment becomes vacant. This change, she argued, significantly altered landlord economics by capping rent increases based on the previous tenant's rate, regardless of unit condition or repair costs.
“The most impactful one was the implementation of something that we call vacancy control, which is a regulation of an empty apartment.”
“Because basically what it did is it said that when a tenant turns over, you cannot raise the rent more than a certain amount that's dictated by the rent guidelines board.”
“So you're asking property owners to provide $1200, $1300, maybe $800,000 for repairs.”