NYC Rent Board Votes to Hike Rents After 2-Year Freeze

The New York City Rent Guideline Board voted Tuesday night to hike rents by 1.25 percent on one-year leases and 2 percent on two-year leases.

The board’s 7-2 vote marked the first time in three years they allowed landlords to hike rents for the city’s more than one million New Yorkers living in rent-stabilized apartments. While the increase only directly impacts rent-controlled apartments, most landlords use it as a guide to private rentals.

Tenant groups complained about the increase while landlord organizations called it “totally inadequate” to maintain the costs of upkeep.

“The mayor and this board are hurting the very tenants they say they want to protect,” said Jack Freund, vice president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents landlords. “The ones who are going to suffer are the tenants.”

At a preliminary vote in April the Board had recommended three percent and four percent increases on one and two year leases. The new rents will take effect in October.