Residents of rent-stabilized apartments could see precedent-setting freezes in what they pay landlords each month, according to a Rent Guidelines Board decision Wednesday night.
At a rowdy board meeting that drew some 300 people, the nine-member board voted to set the preliminary range of rent changes at 0 percent to 2 percent for one-year leases — the lowest ever.
Last year, the board preliminarily approved a slightly higher range — 0 percent to 3 percent — and ultimately set the limit on one-year lease increases at 1 percent.
For two-year leases this year, the board set the range at .5 percent to 3.5 percent — which is also slightly lower than last year’s range of .5 to 4.5 percent.
The board is expected to make its final decision in June and plans to hold four public hearings beforehand to gather feedback.
Some of the people at the meeting wanted the rents to actually be lowered.
“They should adopt a rent rollback now,” said Michael McKee, treasurer of the Tenants PAC. “A rent freeze is not enough.
“These landlords are not losing money. They’re making money hand over fist,” he insisted.
Mayor de Blasio is responsible for appointing all nine members to the Rent Guidelines Board, and has made preserving affordable housing a cornerstone of his agenda.
Landlords obviously weren’t happy with the decision. They argued that their costs are going up and that the only way to cover them is through rent hikes.
“Tonight’s vote is a clear indication that Mayor de Blasio’s nine appointees need to return to Economics 101, because they clearly are clueless when it comes to understanding the resources that are needed to operate a building and provide and preserve existing affordable housing,” said Joe Strasburg, president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 landlords.
“If the final vote is a rent freeze, it will drive a stake in the heart of the city’s existing affordable-housing stock.”
Last year, the board had holdovers from the Bloomberg administration, and still voted for a 1 percent increase on one-year leases and a 2.75 percent increase on two-year leases. Both were the lowest increases decreed by the board in the last 25 years.