The risks of illegal apartment conversions attracted attention earlier this year after two fires killed five people, prompting the city to step up enforcement of housing regulations. But some experts wonder if enforcement will make any difference to the number of illegal apartments when the apartments play such a big role in meeting housing demand, City Limits reported.

It will never eliminate the underground housing market because alternative housing options are inadequate, Sarah Watson, a senior policy analyst at Citizens Housing and Planning Council, told City Limits.

“There’s no doubt the path forward is difficult politically, but we need to recognize that there’s a mismatch between the types of housing we have and the ways we’re really living today.” [more]

Citi Habitats this week offered to refund a broker’s fee to clients who were rented an illegal apartment. But Citi Habitats President Gary Malin told The Real Deal he
believes his company is being unfairly blamed for the incident, which
is being investigated by the New York State Department of State. “Citi Habitats didn’t do anything wrong,” Malin said, noting that the
listing for the illegally converted apartment was not a Citi Habitats
exclusive, but was marketed by the landlord, Philip Jacobson, the owner
of Manhattan-based Kain Realty. As originally reported by NY1, James Wesley, his partner, Seth
Rudetsky, and their young daughter were forced to move out of their
apartment at 343 West 87th Street in November when Jacobson told them
the duplex had been found to violate building codes. Wesley and Rudetsky filed a complaint this fall with the Department of
State against Jacobson and Citi Habitats, and are planning to take the
matter to small claims court in hopes of recovering some of the money
they paid for brokers’ fees and relocating to their new apartment in
Harlem. Wesley and Rudetsky had paid a $2,100 fee to the Citi Habitats agent
who found them the apartment, along with a security deposit and $2,520
fee to Jacobson, who acted as the broker for the building. Jacobson has refused to refund their money, Wesley said. This week,
Citi Habitats offered the couple $3,600 and asked them to sign an
agreement releasing the company from claims and damages associated with
the transaction, Wesley said. While Malin acknowledged that the company had offered a refund, he
wouldn’t comment on the terms of the agreement or how Citi Habitats
arrived at that sum. [more]

A deadly blaze that killed three people in a two-family Queens house at 42-38 65th Street, and revealed the numerous unregulated apartments divided within, has drawn a keen eye toward the growing problem of illegal apartments in the five boroughs. Following the fire, officials found that the Woodside home had as many as five different living units in its basement alone, and six more crammed into the upstairs space. One family lived in its unit in the house for two years before the blaze revealed the scheme. Housing advocates say that many other illegal apartments exist throughout the city, but that they’re difficult to track down and that they often hide in plain sight. Some experts say that as many as 100,000 illegal apartments currently exist in the city, the New York Times reported.