NYC to Vote on Increasing Rent by up to 6.5% for Rent-Stabilized Apartments

Activists Call On NYC Mayor And Housing Authority To Address To Jacob Riis Houses' Water And Gas Crisis — (Photo : Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) A maintenance worker cleans the grounds of the Jacob Riis Houses as residents and activists gather for a protest against the living conditions at the public housing unit on September 14, 2022 in New York City. Despite extensive city operated tests showing that the water does not contain arsenic, many residents still complain about cloudy and foul smelling water, a lack of repairs and other issues plaguing the 2,600 residents living there. Following the discovery of dangerous levels of arsenic in the tap water on the Friday evening of Labor Day weekend at the housing complex in the East Village, residents had been given bottled water and provided take away meals and were told not to drink the water. Tests now show that the initial water results were wrong, but many residents are still angry and plan to sue the New York City Housing Authority

New York City's Rent Guidelines Board is scheduled to vote Monday night on a series of rent increases for almost one million rent-stabilized apartments across the city.

Earlier this year, the Rent Guidelines Board voted in support of hiking rents for rent-stabilized apartments by between 2% and 4.5% on one-year leases and between 4% and 6.5% on two-year leases. Monday night's voting, which will be held at Hunter College, will set the final numbers.

Once the panel approves the rent hikes, landlords could begin raising rents in October, per NBC New York.

In 2023, the median monthly rent for a rent-stabilized unit in New York was $1,500. In comparison, unregulated apartments typically cost $2,000 monthly, according to a recent New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey.

The panel consists of nine members, including two representing tenant interests, two representing the interests of landlords, and five representing the general public.

How NYC Residents Reacted

Following the announcement of the voting schedule, the Legal Aid Society issued a statement calling for a rent freeze for all tenants living in rent-stabilized units.

"Given the current state of the New York City housing market and the crisis tenants are facing citywide, we call on the Rent Guidelines Board to freeze rents for all tenants living in stabilized units. The reports produced by the Board since March have proven that any increase on rent for this vulnerable population would not only be unnecessary, but would betray the stated purpose of the Board, which is to protect stabilized tenants from exorbitant, needless rent hikes," the statement read.

"Despite the disappointing outcome of the preliminary vote, the Board still has the opportunity to do right by the more than one million New Yorkers who reside in rent-stabilized units. Ahead of tonight's vote, we call on the Board to listen to the cries of these already-struggling tenants who could be facing imminent evictions and displacement should an increase be passed, and vote for an outright rent freeze on all stabilized units," the statement continued.

During a news conference Monday, Mayor Eric Adams also said he hoped the panel would vote on the lower end of the expected hike.

"People are hurting," he said. "We have to find a middle ground."