NEW YORK — New York City may allow landlords to raise rents as much as 9 percent over two years on nearly 1 million rent-regulated apartments as management costs continue to rise.
The city’s Rent Guidelines Board, in a report released Thursday, found owners of rent-regulated apartments saw their operating costs rise by 4.2 percent over the last year. The board proposed a range of 2.7 to 4.5 percent increases for one-year leases, and 4.3 to 9 percent jumps on two-year leases.
Details: The recommended range, which is based on different formulas, is “just a starting point for each of our individual discussions about what the appropriate rent adjustments are,” board chair David Reiss said at a meeting Thursday. In past years, the final increases have fallen both above and below that range on multiple occasions.
The formulas combine data on operating costs, revenues and inflation to determine how much rents would need to increase in order for net operating income for rent-stabilized apartments to remain the same, according to the report.
The board determines annually whether and by how much to raise rents on the city’s nearly 1 million rent-regulated apartments.
Landlord groups argued the data on operating costs justifies higher increases this year. The three areas that jumped the most were fuel, insurance and maintenance costs — rising 19.6 percent, 10.9 percent and 9.2 percent respectively. Real estate taxes, meanwhile, fell by 3.7 percent.
“The RGB’s data continues to be catastrophic for rent-stabilized apartment owners,” Joseph Strasburg, president of the landlord group the Rent Stabilization Association, said in a statement. “Today’s report illustrates that the expense bell-weathers across the board have skyrocketed, led by heating oil, but also utilities, maintenance, labor and insurance.”
Meanwhile, the board’s recommended range received pushback from tenant activists and elected officials.
“The Rent Guidelines Board is trying to pull the rug out from working class New Yorkers by recommending rent increases as high as 9% over 2 years,” City Council Member Lincoln Restler wrote on Twitter. “RBG can’t pretend like they are addressing the affordability crisis while forcing New Yorkers out of their homes.”
Tenant advocates are calling for a rent decrease on regulated apartments. Andrea Shapiro of the nonprofit Met Council on Housing called the range put forth by the board Thursday “really scary” and unjustified, given the continued economic strain on many renters.
Key context: If the body does approve increases along the lines detailed in the Thursday report, it would represent a departure from board decisions under former Mayor Bill de Blasio. The highest increase approved during his tenure was a 2.75 percent rent hike on two-year leases in 2014 and 1.5 percent increases on one-year leases in 2018 and 2019.
For comparison, during the last year of the Bloomberg administration in 2013, the board approved a 4 percent rent hike on one-year leases and a 7.75 percent increase on two-year leases.
Mayor Eric Adams named Legal Aid Society lawyer Adán Soltren as a tenant representative to the board Thursday. Soltren is a staff attorney in the organization’s Housing Justice Unit – Group Advocacy Project.
“In New York City, we cannot afford to put our affordable housing at risk,” Adams said in a statement. “My administration is focused on using data to inform decisions, and I am confident that all of my appointees will faithfully evaluate the data they are presented and make an informed decision about how best to protect the city’s affordable housing.”
Tenant groups have been skeptical of Adams, fearing he will take a more landlord-friendly approach to the board.
What’s next: The board will hold a series of meetings and hearings in the coming months and is slated to take a final vote in June.
