In stating that the new law anti-harassment provisions adopted by the New York City Council relating to buy-outs protects tenants but not landlords, Warren Estis and Jeffrey Turkel make the common mistake of suggesting that the bargaining positions of tenants and landlords are equal. (“New Legislation on Tenant Buy-Out Offers,” NYLJ, Sept. 2).

They are not.

A landlord's inability to recover a regulated apartment is not equivalent to a tenant's loss of an apartment where the rent is affordable and regulated and where there are protections from eviction. Landlords are much more likely to be represented by counsel, to have a better understanding of both financial and legal realities, and to have deeper pockets enabling them to litigate.