RSA leads owners and managers into the next century.

The Rent Stabilization Association (RSA) is the largest real estate association in New York, representing over 25,000 property owners and managers responsible for approximately one million units of housing.

Over the past year, our profile was framed in terms of our advocacy on behalf of a united real estate industry, which led to the successful passage of the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997. Equally important, though, is our function as a complete service for property owners.

Continuing our commitment to lead, RSA will introduce a new program to help rental housing providers - large and small - take advantage of electric and natural gas utility deregulation. The entire industry has wafted eagerly for an opportunity to realize reduced rates through deregulation. In April we will introduce our energy savings plan and describe options available to our members. The plan will ensure the greatest possible savings on gas and electric bills through the power of our bulk purchasing.

The new energy savings plan will use a formula similar to the one employed by our current Fuel Purchasing Program to generate reduced pricing on #2, #4 and #6 heating, oil. Just as happens with the Fuel Purchasing Program, as membership grows, our purchasing power will increase, and savings for members will grow.

RSA continues to be the premiere provider of rent registration services. RSA's Rent Registration Service guarantees the security of knowing that annual rent registration information has been electronically transferred directly into the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) database. Even though other owners register rents properly, DHCR has to manually keypunch that information, along with the information for hundreds of thousands of other units each year. The ability to prove legal rents in Housing Court or in an overcharge hearing could be severely compromised because the current legal regulated rent may not be reflected in the database.

The Rent Registration Service also produces and mails tenant notices, supplying a proof of mailing. The service securely stores all registration information for any future inquiry - only the owner and DHCR has access to the information. And RSA will provide affidavits for proof of mailing if required in Housing Court.

Realm Express, the property management service for small and mid-size owners that we introduced last year, provides an automatic link to the Rent Registration Service. Realm Express combines years of experience, state-of-the-art computers and specially designed programs to generate everything needed to manage rental income, including rent bills, accounts receivable, lease renewals updated with the current guidelines, lease riders and accurate, professional records. A complete properly management tool, Realm Express allows for improved cash-flow, an upgraded management process and expansion of operations without an increase in overhead.

Small and mid-size owners can profit, too, from the same legal expertise often available only to large, well-established owners through RSA's Legal Services Plan. Law firms that are knowledgeable and experienced in rental law represent members at rates established exclusively for members.

RSA is monitoring many of the legislative reforms won last year, especially the implementation of the mandatory deposit of rent requirements. Through our Housing Court Owners' Assistance Centers, we encourage owners to document problems with the new law or individual judges applying the law. The success of our Housing Court Centers is evidenced by the many owners who have received valuable assistance in their attempts to gain justice in the tenant-biased Housing Courts.

Throughout the year, we also monitor all the regulations and requirements that affect property owners. We meet with agency representatives to ensure that these regulations are as easy to comply with as possible, and try to eliminate regulatory requirements wherever possible. We update our members on the latest legal, legislative and regulatory news with our monthly newsletter. Experienced RSA counselors are available to all members for individual assistance, by phone or in person, in dealing with regulatory and government problems.

Our commitment to helping property owners cope with the burdens imposed by innumeranble state and city agencies has made RSA an invaluable tool for our members. I am proud of the increased and improved services we now offer. And we will continue to upgrade and expand our services to reflect the needs of a growing membership.

We are working hard to make sure that the many reforms we achieved last year are preserved, whether it's in the courts, administratively or in the Legislature. We're also working hard to make sure our members have the nuts-and-bolts support they need and deserve.