What to Know
- The nine-person Rent Guidelines Board, appointed by Mayor Eric Adams, held its preliminary vote on proposed lease adjustments for rent-stabilized apartments. In a 5-4 vote, the board approved a 2%-5% increase for one-year leases, and an even larger 4%-7% increase for two-year leases.
- Two board members had voted in favor of a range that included a 1% decrease, but the rest of the board voted against that proposal
- During the raucous hearing, representatives of the owners of these apartments alleged that the high cost of living and inflation are the factors for requesting the increase. However, tenant advocates say such a rent hike would lead to many to become homeless.
A New York City board has greenlighted a rent increase for roughly a million rent-stabilized apartments in the city — and while it's not the previously proposed 16% increase that some deemed to be "cold-blooded," it was still enough draw fiery responses from tenants.
Although a definitive decision will not be made until later in June, on Tuesday the nine-person Rent Guidelines Board held its preliminary vote on proposed lease adjustments for rent-stabilized apartments. In a 5-4 vote, the board approved a 2%-5% increase for one-year leases, and an even larger 4%-7% increase for two-year leases.
Two board members had voted in favor of a range that included a 1% decrease, but the rest of the board voted against that proposal.
It took place during a hearing in which hearing anything said was not really possible. Chanting from protestors was so loud, it made the majority of the meeting inaudible. Hundreds turned out to fight back against any proposed rent hikes.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
While it is typically a fairly raucous annual hearing, it was especially uproarious on Tuesday. At one point, the meeting had to pause when protestors hijacked the stage and then marched around the board as the members tried to continue on.
The possibility of the increase had led tenant advocates to urge the board to not raise rent whatsoever, saying prices tenants pay are already too high. There was widespread outcry from tenants and advocates at the possibility of any hikes for rent-stabilized apartments — especially after one proposal sought to increase the rental price of those apartments by 15.75% for 2-year leases, the New York Times reported April 20.
However, the board did not listen to tenant groups, instead giving landlords the freedom to up rents on the rent-stabilized units.
"We have a really serious housing pandemic, catastrophe, whatever you want to call it. It's really serious," said Pilar DeJesus of the Rent Justice Coalition. "The landlords have never opened their books to show us how broke they are."
But landlords say between inflation, tax hikes, insurance and more, they're in need of an even larger rent hike.
"Still better than the irresponsible and reckless de Blasio year, but not quite the appreciation of the increase costs building owners are always facing," said the Rent Stabilization Association's Michael Tobman. The group represents thousands of landlords, whom mostly own smaller buildings.
The panel, appointed by Mayor Eric Adams, unveiled the proposal last month that would affect about a million rent-stabilized apartments. The initial proposal represented would be the largest rent increase in New York City in decades.
In a statement Tuesday night, Adams urged the board not to vote at the higher end of the increase, which would be the 7% hike for two-year leases.
During last month's hearing with the Rent Guidelines Board, representatives of the owners of these apartments alleged that the high cost of living and inflation are the factors for requesting the increase. Meanwhile, tenant advocates argued that the increase would lead to ordinary people simply not able to continue living in the Big Apple. An attendee at last month's board meeting called the proposed hike as "cold blooded."
According to the Progressive Caucus, another rent increase would push millions of low-income New Yorkers closer to eviction and homelessness.
Meanwhile, Sochie Nnaemeka, Director of the New York Working Families Party, shared similar sentiments.
“The outrageous rent hikes proposed by Mayor Adams’s Rent Guidelines Board would only fuel homelessness, displacement, and push more families to the edge. We fully and unequivocally reject any further rent hikes," Nnaemeka said in a statement.
The board will continue hearing public comments between now and June before reaching a decision.
Although any decision made would pertain to rent-stabilized units, it is unclear how it will impact rent for units not under rent stabilization.
