Rent stabilization laws usually protect tenants of apartment complexes...
Rent stabilization laws usually protect tenants of apartment complexes, but the same laws are not acknowledged by most owners of mobile-home parks, who argue that renters of apartments cannot be compared to owners of mobile homes. While tenants in rent-stabilized apartment buildings cannot be subjected to frequent increases in rent, owners of mobile homes who rent space in mobile parks are often asked to agree to unreasonable increases in rent in order to renew their leases.
Which of the following would most help to determine whether rent stabilization should be applicable to mobile-home parks?
Argument Analysis
Pre-Thinking
Conclusion Clarification
We are not given a conclusion in the passage; however, as the question stem requires us to evaluate whether rent stabilization should be applicable to mobile-home parks, the correct answer choice should help us make this determination.
Pre-Thinking Approach
In order to evaluate the linkage, we’ll pre-think assumptions and ask questions which can tell us whether they are correct or not. To do so, let’s look at linkage 1 and understand the conditions under which it doesn’t hold. The assumption then will be that these conditions don’t exist.
Linkage#1 –
Falsification Condition: What if, RS laws put apartment complexes and MHP under the same category? In such a case, the rules and regulations that apply to the apartment complexes would apply to the MHP as well. Thus, the argument of owners of MHP will not hold.
- Assumption1: RS laws do not put apartment complexes and MHP under the same category, i.e. the same regulations that apply to apartment complexes do not apply to MHP.
With this pre-thinking in mind, let’s evaluate the answer choices.
Answer Choices
A
Do attorneys hired by owners of mobile-home parks cite as evidence for their case the fact that the law is usually in the landlords' favor?
Incorrect – Irrelevant
The arguments made by the lawyers hired by OMHP will not help us evaluate whether the rent stabilization laws should apply to OMHP.
B
Have rent stabilization laws changed significantly since they were first implemented?
Incorrect – Irrelevant
We do not know what the laws were originally. Hence, determining whether the laws have changed will not help us evaluate the specifics of the law. For example, if we say- yes the laws have changed significantly. It does not give us any reason to determine whether these laws should be applicable to MHP.
C
Can tenants living on rent-stabilized properties be evicted if they choose to renew their leases?
Incorrect – Irrelevant
There is no established link between the eviction criteria for tenants living on rent-stabilized properties and application of RS laws on mobile parks.
D
Do the existing rent stabilization regulations differentiate between laws applicable to owners of apartment complexes and owners of other forms of rental properties?
Correct
This choice is written along the lines of our pre-thinking. If the existing regulations make such differentiation, the RS laws shouldn't be application to mobile parks; otherwise, they should be.
E
Are tenants in most apartment complexes protected by rent stabilization laws?
Incorrect – Irrelevant
We are already given that RS laws usually protect tenants of apartment complexes. This information doesn't address the applicability of RS laws to mobile parks.