Rent Guidelines Board Report Suggests Large Hikes in Rent Stabilized Apartment

By Hamodia Staff

With the New York City Rent Guidelines Board scheduled to announce rent increases for rent stabilized apartments in June, a report by the board suggested that there may be a nearly 16% increase for two-year leases in the upcoming recommendations made by the board, WABC News reported.

Dramatic increases of 15.75% for a two-year lease, and 8.25% for one-year leases were outlined in the report issued by the mayor-controlled Rent Guidelines Board, as the average cost of running a building jumped by 8.1%. A best-case scenario, according to the report, is a rent hike of 6.6% for a two-year lease and 5.3% for a one year lease.

The annual report noted the massive increases in costs for landlords, including a 19.9% increase in the cost of heating, as well as increases in insurance costs and tax hikes.

“On top of that, operating costs are going through the roof because of these government mandates,” said Vice President of the Rent Stabilization Association Frank Ricci, which represents the owners of a million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City. Besides for inflation, he said, the cost of living is going up across the board.

On the other hand, tenant advocates are saying that the tenants cannot absorb rent increases on top of the already rise in other costs.

“Costs are going up for landlords, costs are going up for tenants — who is in a better position to be able to absorb some of those increases,” said Legal Aide attorney Adan Soltren, who sits on the Rents Guidelines Board. “Working-class families are suffering people are barely able to make ends meet.” Soltren hopes that other board members view the struggle through his clients’ eyes.

Mayor Adams’ spokesperson noted that the number mentioned in the report is part of a standard annual report, and “only reflects one assessment of landlords’ increased costs, and does NOT in any way represent a recommendation from the RGB or this administration.”

Last year, the initial recommended increases by the staff report recommended hikes of 2.7%-4.5% for one-year leases and of 4.3%-9% for two-year leases. Ultimately, the board backed a rise of 3.25% on one-year leases, and 5% for two-year leases.

The board will host several public hearings that will take place at the board between now and June, and after that it will set the maximum allowed rent increase on new leases in the coming year.

Median rent prices for unstabilized rental apartments rose between 19% and 29% throughout the five boroughs from 2019 to 2023.