Demonstrators at the Rent Guidelines Board vote, June 20, 2013. (credit: Eileen Lehpamer/1010 WINS)Demonstrators at the Rent Guidelines Board vote, June 20, 2013. (credit: Eileen Lehpamer/1010 WINS)
Under the new recommendations approved by a 5-4 vote, rent can go up 4 percent on one-year lease renewals and 7.75 percent on two-year lease renewals of rent-stabilized apartments. That’s nearly double the increase that was approved last year.
As 1010 WINS’ Eileen Lehpamer reported, tenants and landlords alike are displeased over the board’s recommendations.
Renters had been seeking a rent freeze, but landlords wanted a higher increase.
A public hearing on the proposed rent increase was held last week in lower Manhattan.
Tenants argued rent has been increasing at a rate higher than pay increases, but landlords said they were incurring more costs for the upkeep of their properties.
Under the current rules, rent could go up 3.25 percent for a one-year lease and 5 percent for a two-year agreement.
There are about 1 million rent-stabilized apartments across the five boroughs.
The vote was held in Cooper Union’s Great Hall on Thursday evening.
Mayoral candidate Jimmy McMillan, whose platform is “the rent is too damn high,” held a rally outside the meeting on Thursday, Lehpamer reported.
The rent board approved increases of 2 percent for one-year renewals and 4 percent for two-year leases last year.
