ROOSEVELT ISLAND — Mayor Bill de Blasio said there's been a "big uptick" in calls to 311 from city renters looking for information after the rent regulation laws expired at midnight Tuesday.
"We’ve had a big uptick in calls to 311 — renters looking for information," he said during a press conference on Roosevelt Island. "We don’t have any specific report — that I know of, at least — of a landlord inappropriately trying to undermine their tenants or the leases."
► Here's What You Need to Know Now That the Rent Regulations Have Expired
City officials say they had received close to 500 calls to 311 about the issue as of 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The news comes as there is no sign from Albany that the issue will be resolved anytime soon.
The laws govern how much landlords can charge for more than 1 million apartments in New York City and affects more than 2 million tenants.
It is more likely, Albany sources said, that work will continue on the rent laws and several other legislative issues affecting the city such as mayoral control of the schools and the 421-a tax abatement beyond the end of the session Wednesday.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he will call the legislature back into session every day if they try to recess with the rent laws expired.
De Blasio said on Friday that the failure to renew the city's rent regulations will mean an "end to New York City as we have known it."
On Monday, de Blasio called the pending expiration of rent laws a "very troubling moment for over two million New Yorkers" who were wondering "what’s going to happen to them" and their families.
Even with the rent laws expired, the only tenants at risk are those whose leases are up. Other tenants under lease retain their protections through the duration of their lease. And when the rent laws are likely renewed, they will be made retroactive to the day they expired so even those with expired leases will remain protected.
Still, de Blasio is not taking any chances. "As I indicated yesterday, we should not be shocked if some unscrupulous landlord is trying to take advantage of the situation," he said. "Anyone who thinks that might be happening to them should call 311, and we will make sure they get legal assistance."
