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I lived in an apt in Brooklyn for 5 years, a brownstone built in 1931, and I never saw a single roach (they also never raised the rent).

1. we kept it very clean 2. the owners/landlords lived in the building with their children

Thank you "Monika landlord"! (that's how she signed the Christmas cards she would give us - yes, I know how lucky we got)

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I don’t think you go lucky — renting from small landlords who live in/near building is the way to avoid this. In my experience, say the word “leak” they’ll be there in 10 minutes. And good tenants have value to them.

At two years with a corporate landlord, they’ve done the math and see they can cheaply renovate your apartment, jack up the rent, and make more money than they can by renewing you.

Small landlords also haven’t built software to collude with each other to raise prices.

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