Generally, we think of rent stabilized apartments as the dominion of the politically-connected, the corrupt, the elderly, and the damn lucky, no good relatives of those elderly. But just as with the island, there are certain loopholes a savvy person can use to get their very own rent-stabilized apartment!
There is a loophole in the city's housing law that applies to the city's 30,000 Single Room Occupancies (SRO): "An individual can become a permanent tenant by simply requesting a lease. If someone comes in and pays for a night, he or she can request a lease orally, or in writing. The very act of requesting a lease gives you statutory tenancy," Marti Weithman, director of the SRO Law Project, told the Post. Anyone who stays in one of these rooms for 30 consecutive days automatically becomes a permanent resident.
That's just what retired computer-systems administrator Dorothy Williamson did; the 70-year-old checked into the Imperial Court Hotel at 79th Street and West End Avenue as a "tourist" in 2009 for a 10-day stay. Two years later, she now pays $398 a month for a room on the UWS. Keep in mind, you will be living in an SRO, which means communal bathrooms, small rooms, and in some places, local residents trying to get rid of your building. But for a certain rent-obsessed politician/musician, we think this'll sound like music to his ears.
