Rent Guidelines Board votes to give 2-year rent-stabilized leases minor change
QUEENS, New York (WABC) -- The Rent Guidelines Board held a rare revote on its preliminary decision to raise rents on nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments.
One-year leases were still due to increase 1.75% to 4.75%. The board decided to lower the increase on two-year leases from 4.75% to 7.75% to 3.75% to 7.75%.
The nine-member Rent Guidelines Board has two owner representatives, two tenant representatives, and five public members.
Tenants and advocates are happy to see the revote, but some argue the proposal isn't low enough.
"That's not enough tenants this year in need of rent freeze when we've had unprecedented increases in landlord profit 12% from the previous year," said Charlie Dulik, a housing conservation coordinator. "Landlord profits are up and tenant wages and tenant experience is down."
Legal Aid said in part, "In the weeks ahead, we urge the Board to listen to tenants, hear their concerns, and recognize how reckless it would be to raise rents on poor and working-class households in these unprecedented times."
Last month, the preliminary rate hikes disappointed both tenants and landlords, who expressed their frustration with the decision.
Next year, the board members, who are appointed by the mayor, may not be back if there's a new mayor elected.
"We're demanding that the next mayor pledge for a rent freeze. And it won't be Adams, I got news for you. And it won't be Cuomo either," said Joanne Grell of CASA, last month.
Tuesday, Mayor Adams said, "You are 100% right. It is an attractive thing to join the chorus. it is extremely attractive. But you know what? They are not talking to that 14 unit building owner who is crying because they are about to lose their building because everything went up, heating went up, electricity went up, water rates went up, costs of doing business. And then because of the whole no rent movement that happened over COVID. When you are the mayor, you have to make tough choices. when you are running for mayor, you can say whatever you want."
The other Democrats running in the primary do support a rent freeze.
Mayor Adams had called the board's decision in April "challenging," and aimed to "strike a balance between protecting the quality of rent stabilized homes as costs continue to rise without overburdening tenants with infeasible rent increases." He thought that an increase as much as 7.75% was "far too unreasonable of burden for tenants."
Some landlords in the city say, however, given the rising maintenance costs and increase in programs from the city that require them to spend money, there needs to be a solution.
"We want our neighbors and our friends to be safe," said Manhattan landlord Isaac Rabinovitch. "We want our tenants to be happy and live in good homes. But those programs come with a cost. And if we would like those things to exist, we need to either fund them from the city. If we would like those programs to exist, we need the city and state to fund them, or we need to reconsider whether those are more important than affordable rents."
A final vote is scheduled for June 25.
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