Tenants of a Red Hook loft building are taking their landlord to court after an attempt to raise rents by 60 percent. Tenants argue that the building should be protected under a rent-stabilization law, which regulates rents in buildings with six or more units that were built before 1974 and have been less than 75 percent renovated. However, the landlord's attorney says that the law was meant to protect existing units, not create new ones; even though the former warehouse was built pre-1974, it was converted into residences well after that. The decision will likely come down to who bore the cost of converting, the tenants or the landlord. Both claim responsibility. [WSJ; image via Property Shark]
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