Rent Hikes OK'd For 2.4M NYC Tenants In Rent-Stabilized Apartments

NEW YORK CITY — The biggest rent hike in years will hit more than 2.4 million New York City tenants in rent-stabilized apartments after a controversial board vote.

The Rent Guidelines Board late Thursday narrowly voted to increase rents by 3.25 percent on one-year leases and 5 percent on two-year leases.

The increases will be effective for new leases starting Oct. 1 — a day many advocates worry is as good as an eviction date for cash-strapped New Yorkers.

"So many New Yorkers will now become just another statistic, adding to the burgeoning local homeless population, and those Board members who voted for this increase must recognize that this unacceptable reality will play out in the days, weeks and months ahead," said Adriene Holder, an attorney with The Legal Aid Society, in a statement immediately after the vote.

The board itself was sharply divided on the hike, with the final vote tally standing at 5-4.

Landlords and property owners had pushed for higher increases to cover rising costs — and board staff had initially drafted hikes of up to 9 percent.

Members scotched those rent hikes in favor of a compromise that kept them lower, but still at the highest level since former mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration. Increases under former mayor Bill de Blasio averaged only 1 percent per year.

Still, the final approved hike drew immediate condemnation.

City Comptroller Brad Lander accused the board of capitulating to property owners rather than the 2.4 million New Yorkers in rent-stabilized apartments.

“At a moment when New Yorkers – tenants and landlords alike – are being squeezed by rising prices and with the threat of economic downturn on the horizon, the Rent Guidelines Board failed in its duty to balance rising costs for property owners with tenants’ ability to afford rent," he said in a statement.

Mayor Eric Adams, who appointed the Rent Guidelines Board, called the hike "disappointing."

"At the same time, small landlords are at risk of bankruptcy because of years of no increases at all, putting building owners of modest means at risk while threatening the quality of life for tenants who deserve to live in well-maintained, modern buildings," he said in a statement.

“This system is broken, and we cannot pit landlords against tenants as winners and losers every year."

But some advocates argued Adams didn't do enough to halt the hikes.

"We had hoped that Mayor Adams would have used his bully pulpit, as the previous occupant of City Hall had, to fight for a freeze, but that was wishful thinking given his appointment of known anti-tenant members to the Board," said Holder, the Legal Aid attorney.