New York City Rent Guidelines Board votes in favor of rent hikes
NEW YORK -- As many as 2 million New Yorkers are going to have to reach a little deeper into their pockets to pay for rent.
The Rent Guidelines Board voted Wednesday to increase one-year leases by 3% and two-year leases by 2.75% in the first year and 3.2% in the second year in rent-stabilized units. The increases will be enacted in the fall.
"The reason we did it that way was to lessen the blow for tenants that sign a two-year lease. So they're only incurring 2.75% on that first year, then 3.2% for the second year, rather than 4.5% over two years flat," said Adan Soltren of the Rent Guidelines Board.
From the moment the meeting began to the time it ended, protesters were vocal. So much so, it was difficult to hear anything the board had to say.
"This is a human rights issue and I'm furious," rent-stabilized tenant Virginia Crawford said.
"You raise the rent. People can't afford the rent. You think they're gonna leave the city? They're not. It's gonna create crime and they're gonna rob us to eat and sleep," tenant Malikah Khadijah Shabazz said.
"We're coming out of a pandemic where people are still trying to figure out their lives right now and a rent increase is the last thing they need," said Darius Gordon of the Met Council on Housing.
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While some tenants were asking for a rent freeze, saying there is a current affordability crisis in New York City, the group that represents owners of rent-stabilized apartments said the increase is not enough to maintain buildings, many of which are more than 100 years old.
"I understand the Rent Guidelines Board needed to build consensus to pass a vote, but it's in the context of a broken system that yielded a result that is not sufficient for owners to maintain stabilized buildings," Michael Tobman of the Rent Stabilization Association said, adding his organization, "will continue to press its case in Albany, at City Hall, and, yes, again at next year's Rent Guidelines Board deliberations."
Neither side left here happy on Wednesday night. Renters vowed to continue fighting to lower rent increases.
Many tenants had been trying to convince the board to not increase their rents, especially after already seeing one of the biggest rent hikes last year in almost a decade.
Tenant advocates argued any increase would lead to poverty and homelessness.
"Life changes could mean displacement, being evicted because we can't afford the rent," said Tabitha Julien of Equality for Flatbush.
"Our landlords are already rich. They get money from our paychecks every single month," one said during a recent public hearing.
"I should not be paying $991 a month with three roommates in a rent-stabilized apartment," another person said.
Mayor Eric Adams released a statement after the vote, commending the board for the difficult work it took to come to this conclusion. He added that he is committed to building more affordable housing for New Yorkers.