A new lawsuit alleges that Jared Kushner’s real estate company has systemically denied tenants affordable housing in a pattern that activists say is brazen exploitation of rent stabilization laws in New York.
That exploitation has led tenants in the Brooklyn building at the centre of the suit paying hundreds of dollars more than would be allowed if rent stabilization laws were observed, the complaint says.
“Kushner Companies is exploiting a power imbalance: They have lawyers and their tenants do not,” Aaron Carr, the founder and executive director of Housing Rights Initiative, which conducted an investigation into the company’s real estate portfolio, said. “And, like a bully on the playground, Kushner loves an unfair fight.”
The lawsuit, the second of its kind against President Donald Trump’s son-in-law’s real estate company since August, was filed on behalf of several tenants in one of the company’s 20,000-unit portfolio. The building in question was previously exempt from registering units as rent stabilized because its prior owner was an educational institution.
Kushner Companies would have been required to register the units after buying the property in 2014, according to the complaint.
The building, in the Brooklyn Heights neighbourhood, has a studio apartment listed online for $2,600, and a one bedroom apartment listed for $3,800 (another goes for $3,100).
Under New York State law, buildings built before 1974 with six or more units are generally required to be rent stabilized, a safety mechanism meant to stymie skyrocketing costs of living in the city, which is one of the most expensive to live in in the United States and is experiencing a housing crisis.
Mr Kushner, who is a White House adviser, has seen his company’s properties and practices scrutinized before. A similar suit was filed in August regarding a building near the Brooklyn Heights property. Kushner’s firm has also been accused of attempting to drive long-term tenants in a building out by using construction, according to the Village Voice.
Kushner Companies did not immediately respond to a request from The Independent for comment regarding the lawsuit. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office, which oversees the state laws regarding rent control in New York City, similarly did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement provided to Newsweek, Kushner Companies spokeswoman Christine Taylor said that the lawsuit is “without merit” because the apartments in question were renovated, and that rent stabilization laws are therefore not applicable.
“Kushner Companies has always aspired to be a leader in good management practices and how people live in genera,” Ms Taylor said.
