Industry must be vigilant to protect hard-fought gains.

In the coming months, the real estate industry needs to remain vigilant. The gains achieved by the Rent Stabilization Association (RSA) and a united industry through the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997 cannot be allowed to erode through legislative or judicial actions.

While the issue of rent regulation is not set to be visited again until 2003, politicians - prodded by tenant activists - may seek to undo some of the reforms we've implemented.

The next opportunity to end rent regulation may be five years away, but New York's business community hasn't lost sight of the damaging impact of a controlled market. In the last month or so, Crain's New York Business has run two editorials reminding its readers of the direct effects regulations have on every industry in the City.

One of the editorials focused on lack of adequate housing for young professionals. The chief executive of one of New York's largest and most successful new media companies related that the biggest detriment to keeping his company in New York is rent control. He can't recruit people to come here because rents are so high, and those who do spend too much time commuting from areas where lower rents are available.

The editorial reminded the business community of the need to keep the focus on the costs of rent regulation. Think how many more new buildings would be rising, how many more office buildings would be in the process of conversion to residential space, and how many more apartment buildings would be undergoing renovation without regulations in place.

Another recent article in The New York Times Sunday magazine even questioned the morality of rent regulations. "To negotiate the city's morass of rent - control laws, one must become either cheater or victim - or both," ran the subhead to John Tierney's thoughtful account of a subtenant paying over a thousand dollars per month under the table to the primary legal tenant of a regulated apartment, a tenant who no longer resides in New York and is not planning to return. As Mr. Tierney points out, no one would endorse slavery if there were a chance they would be a slave, and no one would endorse price controls on housing if they did not know where they would be living in the system.

This month, the rental housing industry is dealing with yet another of the outgrowths of regulation - the annual Rent Guidelines Board process. The Rent Stabilization Association leads the fight for higher guidelines each year. Unfortunately, the process is heavily influenced by the fact that the majority of the City's voters are tenants. Rental property owners have endured historically low rates of increase for renewal leases in three of the past four years. This year, when water and sewer taxes alone have gone up 4 percent, the Board has proposed increases of only 2 percent on a one-year lease and 4 percent on a two-year lease.

Meanwhile, RSA continues to work to help property owners build a more profitable business. With the success of Realm Express, our property management program for small to mid-sized owners, we've expanded to include an online service for mid-sized to large owners. Our new Realm Online handles all billing needs, including rent rolls, billing register, lease expiration information and security deposit reports - all accessible for updating via computer modem. Owners have access to their building information from anywhere in the world.

Realm Online's different service levels let owners choose the package of benefits they need most, from the Silver, or basic package, right up to our Gold and Platinum options. Each package is competitively priced. With Realm Online, computer users can free their own resources to do what they do best - manage current properties and pursue new business.

For the first time, RSA has endorsed a program to help owners and managers save on their workers' comp costs. The RSA Workers' Compensation Safety Group, administered by Durnan Group Managers, can save our members as much as 50 percent on workers' comp expenses.

RSA's other programs, such as our property and liability insurance program, our legal services plan and our tenant screening service, continue to add to owners' bottom lines. With the July 31st deadline looming, out Rent Registration Service is working overtime. Through all our products and services, RSA continues its commitment to rental housing providers large and small.