The Rent Guidelines Board?a nine-member panel that sets annual rent increases on rent-stabilized apartments?met last night to vote on preliminary numbers, and the proceedings went so much according to plan that reading the coverage feels kinda like pressing replay. The board voted for rent hikes of between 1.75 and 4 percent on new one-year leases, according to the Post, and increases of between 3.5 percent and 6.75 percent for two-year renewal leases. As expected, these increases are about 50 percent below last year's.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Rent Guidelines Board meeting without protests from both tenant and landlord reps. The tenant reps made their usual bid for a complete rent freeze, with the argument that tenants are paying the highest ever percentage of their incomes on rent. Landlord reps asked for 5 and 9 percent rent hikes. As has happened for the last 40+ years, both requests were voted down by significant margins and the landlord and tenant representatives made up the no votes in the 5-4 decision on the preliminary hikes. The final numbers will be set in June.
· Rent Guidelines Board votes 504 to approve "modest" preliminary rent hikes [NYP]
· Rent Guidelines Board coverage [Curbed]
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