Landlord Self-Regulation: New York City's Rent Stabilization System, 1969-1985

This article argues that New York City's self-regulation system failed. Its ultimate demise is attributable to several factors: the attempted insulation of decision making from public influence; the attempted exclusion of tenants from the decision-making structure; landlord domination of regulatory bodies and policies; widespread patterns of landlord violations of the rent destabilization code; the failure of regulatory bodies to adequately enforce available sanctions for code violations; and the emergence of countervailing tenant opposition, the subsequent politicization of critical issues and decisions and the eventual deligitimation of the system's structure.