Panel Backs Rent Increases for More Than 2 Million New Yorkers
The New York City panel charged with regulating rents across nearly one million rent-stabilized homes voted on Thursday to support the largest increases in almost a decade, delivering another jarring reminder of the city’s continuing struggles with affordability even as the economic pain of the pandemic lingers.
The vote on Thursday, which was still preliminary, is a strong signal that the panel could allow landlords of rent-stabilized units — a crucial source of affordable housing with a population larger than Philadelphia or Dallas — to raise rents on one-year leases by between 2 and 4 percent, and on two-year leases by between 4 and 6 percent.
The panel, known as the Rent Guidelines Board, kept increases low during the tenure of the previous mayor, Bill de Blasio, a progressive who ran on promises to reduce inequality. The board, which is effectively controlled by the mayor, allowed rent to rise no more than 1.5 percent on one-year leases and 2.75 percent on two-year leases. And in four of the last eight years, the board voted for rent freezes.
But even during his campaign, Mr. Adams, who is more moderate in many of his stances, had expressed skepticism about rent freezes and sympathy for mom-and-pop landlords. Members of the real estate industry have been among the biggest donors to the mayor, and Thursday’s vote echoed his friendlier posture toward the city’s business leaders and smaller property owners.
The New York City panel charged with regulating rents across nearly one million rent-stabilized homes voted on Thursday to support the largest increases in almost a decade, delivering another jarring reminder of the city’s continuing struggles with affordability even as the economic pain of the pandemic lingers.
The vote on Thursday, which was still preliminary, is a strong signal that the panel could allow landlords of rent-stabilized units — a crucial source of affordable housing with a population larger than Philadelphia or Dallas — to raise rents on one-year leases by between 2 and 4 percent, and on two-year leases by between 4 and 6 percent.
The panel, known as the Rent Guidelines Board, kept increases low during the tenure of the previous mayor, Bill de Blasio, a progressive who ran on promises to reduce inequality. The board, which is effectively controlled by the mayor, allowed rent to rise no more than 1.5 percent on one-year leases and 2.75 percent on two-year leases. And in four of the last eight years, the board voted for rent freezes.
But even during his campaign, Mr. Adams, who is more moderate in many of his stances, had expressed skepticism about rent freezes and sympathy for mom-and-pop landlords. Members of the real estate industry have been among the biggest donors to the mayor, and Thursday’s vote echoed his friendlier posture toward the city’s business leaders and smaller property owners.
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