Emily Ratajkowski, who once described her Instagram account as a “sexy feminist magazine”, and her millionaire filmmaker husband Sebastian Bear-McClard are living rent-free in one of Manhattan’s high-end districts, The Telegraph reported, referring to a livid landlord.
Court records reportedly show that McClard sublet the flat on the second floor of the former manufacturing building in 2013.
According to lease holder Antoni Ghosh, after the lease expired in 2017, McClard has not paid for the apartment, with a monthly rent of $49,000, having exploited a loophole in what is known as the “Loft Law”.
This legislation was enacted in 1982 to ban landlords from booting low-income tenants – mainly struggling artists – illegally living in lofts in commercial buildings.
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Under the law, they couldn’t be evicted if their building didn’t have a certificate of occupancy or installed fire and other safety protections, and the Bleeker Street building, in which the celebrity couple lives, doesn’t have the certificate.
“Here is a prime example, in prime NYC real estate, where an uber-wealthy celebrity couple and tenant can take advantage and exploit a law that was intended for truly struggling artists and low-income families in need of affordable housing”, Carolyn Daly, a spokeswoman for the coalition of loft buildings, told the newspaper.
In the meantime, McClard’s lawyer Michael Kozek claims that his client was fighting to save the home in which he had lived for years.
“He’s an artist. Born and raised New Yorker and a child of artists who themselves fought to save their homes, including under the Loft Law”.