Tenant protection laws in NYC are very tenant-friendly, to a degree where someone who is sufficiently motivated and knows the system can effectively live in an apartment rent-free for up to a year at a time, if not longer.
Landlords are scared to death of deadbeat tenants like this, it costs a lot of legal fees to get rid of them, and they're freeloading while you're walking through the necessary legal processes.
Every time the apartment goes onto the market they're rolling the dice again - so the value of an existing pleasant tenant is substantial vs. the risk of a tenant of unknown quality.
Which isn't to say you can just get your rent slashed whenever you want, but it's part of the negotiation, and coupled with a recession it can be a powerful argument.
Depends if you are talking about private small landlords or corporate institutional (ie, Related). The former has totally different motivations and needs. I haven't received rent reductions but I have fought off rent increases in strong markets.
Landlords are scared to death of deadbeat tenants like this, it costs a lot of legal fees to get rid of them, and they're freeloading while you're walking through the necessary legal processes.
Every time the apartment goes onto the market they're rolling the dice again - so the value of an existing pleasant tenant is substantial vs. the risk of a tenant of unknown quality.
Which isn't to say you can just get your rent slashed whenever you want, but it's part of the negotiation, and coupled with a recession it can be a powerful argument.