A Win for Co-ops and Condos (and Landlords) on Water Credits

Co-ops and condos are at a notorious disadvantage to small homeowners when it comes to paying property taxes. But not when it comes to paying water bills. In a rebuke to Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court has shot down that the mayor’s plan to give owners of one-, two-, and three-family homes – but not co-op and condo owners – a $183 credit on their water bills, the New York Times reports.

The ruling upholds a lower court ruling from last summer, which said the targeted water credits and a 2.1 percent hike in water rates proposed by the city Water Board “had no rational basis.” The new ruling says that the city did not prove that the owners of one- to three-family homes were “more financially burdened by paying water bills” than the owners of other types of buildings, including rental properties, co-ops, and condos.

The ruling came three days after de Blasio, in his State of the City speech, predicted a court victory on the issue, and criticized what he called the “landlord lobby” for being behind the legal action. The legal challenge to de Blasio’s plan was mounted by three Brooklyn real estate companies and the Rent Stabilization Association, a group that primarily represents owners of rental apartment buildings that would have to pay the higher rate but would not receive the credit. It’s a rare case where the interests of rental landlords dovetail with the interests of co-op shareholders and condo unit-owners.

During his State of the City speech at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, the mayor predicted a court victory on the issue, saying the water credit would benefit 664,000 households. Frank Ricci, director of government affairs for the Rent Stabilization Association, citing the mayor’s speech, said, “He said, ‘But we’re in court, and we’re going to win.’ Well, he lost.” Asked about the mayor’s vilification of landlords, Ricci said, “I think it’s election year politics.”

Election Day is November 7.