The NYC Rent Guidelines Board voted Monday night in favor of a series of potential rent increases for New Yorkers living in the city's one million rent-stabilized apartments.
The board voted to increase rents by 2.75% on one-year leases and 5.25% on two-year leases. The board had been deciding the rates on two proposed hikes: a 2-4.5% increase on one-year leases, and a 4-6.5% increase jump for two-year leases.
Now that they are approved, the increases could take effect as soon as October.
Opponents of the hike say hundreds of people are expected to hold a protest outside of the RGB vote at Hunter College in Manhattan.
Reaction to the vote was swift with a number of housing advocacy groups releasing statements condemning the move.
"Once again, the Rent Guidelines Board has voted to increase rents on stabilized units across the city, jeopardizing the housing stability of more than one million tenants," The Legal Aid Society said in a statement Monday night. "These needless rent hikes for an already struggling population will undoubtedly lead to increased rates of homelessness, eviction, and displacement."
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“The Rent Guidelines Board process is broken," said Community Housing Improvement Program Executive Director Jay Martin. "It is driven by relentless political pressure instead of an honest assessment of the data available to the Board. And the result is, like tonight, a rent adjustment that fails to cover inflation, nevermind the actual increases in operational costs, leading to lower quality housing for tenants."
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That sentiment was echoed by the City Council speaker, who "urged" the board to "limit increases so that our nearly one million tenants can afford to remain in their homes and contribute to the stability of our communities."
Renters have been seeing regular increases in the past couple of years. Last year, they approved an increase of 3% for one-year leases and 2.75% for two-year leases. There was a similar increase the year before.
