Model Emily Ratajkowski and her movie-producer husband are living rent-free in their NoHo, Manhattan loft thanks to a legal loophole meant to protect struggling artists, their livid landlord alleges.
Ratajkowski and filmmaker Sebastian Bear-McClard, who’s worth an estimated $12 million according to the New York Post, have allegedly lived in their lavish home at 49 Bleecker St. while skirting by on $120,000 in rent since 2017, claiming protection under the state’s Loft Law, a building rep said.
“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,” said Carolyn Daly, spokeswoman for a coalition of loft building owners that includes 49 Bleecker.
Bear-McClard, 31, who married Ratajkowski, 27, last year, has subleased the 1,100 square-foot pad on the second floor of the former manufacturing building since 2013, court records show.
He allegedly hasn’t paid a dime towards $4,900 monthly rent since his lease expired in 2017, according to the Post.
The unit was originally the art studio of oil painter Joanne Corneau, who gained fame while working there and left in the 1990s.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.