The Speculation Watch List is the gathering of properties whose tenants that could possibly become victims of harassment. The list includes rent-regulated multifamily properties sold this year for more than $10,000 that have a capitalization rate below the median cap rate for their respective boroughs. For example, a Stellar Management purchase of a $26.2 million property of a 57-unit building at 3430 Broadway. The City Council passed legislation in November 2017 to compose the list as an approach to flag properties with possibly predatory landlords. The list was made by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which aims to protect the tenants from landlords who are eager to clear their buildings from rent regulation.

“We are working on multiple fronts to protect tenants from harassment and safeguard affordability for our city’s residents,” HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer said in a statement. The Watch List serves as a resource for tenants and tenant organizations, as well as an indicator for city and state agencies of possible tenant harassment patterns.

Article by Stephanie Warren