Editing Openai/696a591f-d750-8006-8907-5e4de0290571 (section)

==== 4) “Small-time landlords… going under; portfolios end up with PE/foreign money; banks will get hit” ====

Verdict: plausible trendline in parts, but the claim is overstated without careful segmentation.

There are real conversations about distress in heavily stabilized buildings (especially those underwritten on assumptions of rent-growth via vacancy increases pre-2019, plus higher rates post-2022). Some investor-oriented reporting explicitly describes investors “lining up to buy” discounted rent-stabilized properties post-2019. Multifamily Housing Business<ref>{{cite web|title=Multifamily Housing Business|url=https://multifamilyaffordablehousing.com/nyc-investors-hunt-for-distressed-deals/|publisher=Multifamily Housing Business|access-date=2026-01-17}}</ref>

But two cautions from more “official” analysis:
* The NYC Comptroller’s 2024 report examining stabilized vacancies/conditions says there’s no evidence the 2019 law led to an increase in vacancies or systemic distress citywide, and reports stabilized building sales/value per unit “returned to levels similar to before” 2019 after the pandemic dip. NYC Comptroller's Office<ref>{{cite web|title=NYC Comptroller's Office|url=https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/Accurately-Assessing-and-Effectively-Addressing-Vacancies-in-NYCs-Rent-Stabilized-Housing-Stock.pdf|publisher=NYC Comptroller's Office|access-date=2026-01-17}}</ref>
* Distress is likely concentrated (building age, repair needs, leverage, tenant mix, tax/insurance shocks), so “small-time landlords as a class are going under” is too broad without numbers.

Bottom line: some distress + some discounted trades are credible; “most small landlords collapsing into PE/foreign hands” is not established by the best citywide evidence.