NYC Rent Guidelines Board considers significant hikes for rent-stabilized apartments
NEW YORK -- Roughly 1 million New Yorkers living in rent-stabilized apartments could face significant rent increases soon.
On Thursday, tenant groups protested outside 1 Center St., where inside the Rent Guidelines Board was considering a hike not seen in decades.
Yang Hong, who represents the Chintatown Tenants Union, said renters are told their breath.
"The rent is beyond our income," said Hong through a translator. "If they increase the rent, low-income tenants will really suffer. There will be a part of us that will be able to afford our rent, there will a part of us who will lose our homes."
"I am here because of the outrageous and obscene potential increases," said Susan Steinberg, president of the Stuyvesant Town—Peter Cooper Village Association. "It was floated that it could be close to 16%, which would cause eviction for many, many rent-stabilized tenants."
The board's nine members, appointed by Mayor Eric Adams, are looking at 15.75% increases on two-year leases and 8.5% on one-year leases.
If passed, it could cost some renters an additional $100 or more per month, a tenant told CBS2.
"Awful because I'm on a fixed income," the tenant said. "I have to lay back on some, maybe food or maybe get help from my children."
Leah Goodridge, a former Rent Stabilization Board member, said it's the highest proposed increase in decades.
"The last time I have even heard of 16% was in the 1990s," said Goodridge.
The final vote won't be until June, but Goodridge predicted "We're going to see very large increases."
Landlords said the rent adjustment is necessary to keep rent-stabilized buildings operational.
"Ever-escalating energy costs, property taxes are the biggest driver, insurance costs. The list of what building managers and owners have to pay only grows," said Michael Tobman, membership director for the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 26,000 members who own and manage 1 million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City.
"The majority of RSA's membership are actually owners of smaller buildings, from between six and 20 units, in every neighborhood, in every borough in New York City," said Tobman. "And our owners are deeply, deeply diverse, every ethnicity, race, gender."
Steinberg, a tenant advocate, said the last year was tougher on renters than landlords.
"I say that in a bad year, you made 38 cents on the dollar profit," said Steinberg. "It can really be fatal. People are gonna have to start thinking about leaving New York City."
The board will host a public meeting on May 2, giving people a chance to voice concerns. A vote will happen in June, but the board has until July 1 to decide.
