The Rent Guidelines Board cast a preliminary vote Thursday night to raise rates for the city\u2019s approximately 1 million rent-stabilized apartments.<\/p>\n
The board voted\u00a00% to 2% increase on one-year leases and 0% to 4% increase on two-year leases signed on or after Oct. 1.<\/p>\n
A majority of the board \u2014 six of nine members \u2014 were appointed by<\/a> Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who made freezing the rent a cornerstone promise of his campaign.<\/a> About 2.4 million New Yorkers live in rent-stabilized units.<\/p>\n What You Need To Know<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was a win for some tenant organizers.<\/p>\n \u201cI am elated with the preliminary vote. For the first time in history, we have an option or a chance to get a zero rent freeze on two-year leases. That has never happened before,\u201d Joanne Grell, a rent-stabilized tenant, said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m feeling pretty good, I think. The rent freeze [is] still on the table for one- and two-year leases,\u201d Elisa Martinez, a rent-stabilized tenant, said.<\/p>\n Some landlords told NY1 that they believe the RGB is caving to political pressure.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you tip the scale and you pick these people, it\u2019s like a baseball team, baby, right? You pick your players to win the game or lose the game,\u201d Humberto Lopes, a landlord, said.<\/p>\n Some landlords say that a rent increase of about 5% is needed,expressing ongoing complaints about the increasing costs of owning and maintaining property in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t support the properties and continue to upkeep them with those rates. The cost-of-living is so much higher. We\u2019re not immune to the economy. Everything is going up: taxes, water and sewer, insurance,\u201d Valentina Gojcaj, a board member for Small Property Owners of New York, said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Mamdani supporters say they are going to continue organizing until their demand for a rent freeze becomes a reality.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, we really showed when we come together as a bloc to work together and do things, like elect a mayor, then have that mayor appoint Rent Guidelines Board that we really could get things we\u2019re out here fighting for,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe zero percent on the table doesn\u2019t mean we won it,\u201d Grell said.<\/p>\n In the last 10 years, the RGB has never come in at the top of the range.<\/p>\n Many tenants rallied outside the preliminary vote in Long Island City, Queens, to demand rents for their one- and two-year leases remain steady.<\/p>\n Tenant advocate groups support a rent freeze, saying housing costs are already unaffordable for many New Yorkers. Landlords, however, say rent increases are necessary to keep up with the rising cost of insurance and fuel.<\/p>\n In a statement, Mamdani said New Yorkers \u201cneed real relief.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNew Yorkers are being crushed by the cost-of-living, and they need real relief. I\u2019m encouraged to see the Board taking seriously the data around affordability, operating expenses, and the pressures facing both tenants and small property owners as it sets this preliminary range,\u201d the mayor wrote.<\/p>\n\n
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