Rent hike of 2.75 percent approved for roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments
- Rent Guidelines Board also approved a 5.25 percent increase for two-year leases
- Tenant advocates protested outside the raucous vote at Hunter College last night
The rent increase is the third in a row by the Rent Guidelines Board
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Tenants living in New York City’s roughly one million rent-stabilized apartments will see their rents rise for a third year in a row after the Rent Guidelines Board approved rent hikes in a heated vote on Monday.
The RGB approved rent increases of up to 2.75 percent on one-year leases and 5.25 percent on two-year leases in a 5 to 4 vote. The decision applies to leases that are signed on or after Oct. 1st for the city’s rent-stabilized apartments, lofts, and hotels.
The vote took place amid boos, jeers, and chants of “shame” from the audience gathered at Hunter College on Monday night. Police detained several protestors, including state Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes, who had gathered outside the building, the New York Daily News reported.
Current and past increases
The board—a group of mayoral appointees—sets rent increases for the city’s roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments each year. This year’s rent increases are similar to those in 2023, where the RGB approved rent hikes of 3 percent for one-year leases and allowed landlords to raise rents by 2.75 percent during the first year of a two-year lease and then 3.2 percent the second year.
The board’s vote marked the third year in a row that the RBG approved rent increases, after approving the highest hikes in a decade in 2022.
Initially, the board mulled rent increases between 2 and 4.5 percent for one-year leases and between 4 and 6.5 percent for two-year leases in a chaotic April meeting where the board’s two tenant representatives walked out with hundreds of renters, Gothamist reported.
Unlike past years, many tenants refused to enter the Hunter College building on Monday to protest the RGB itself.
Landlord and tenant advocates slam vote
As usual, very few are happy with the rent hikes.
The Legal Aid society condemned the vote, saying it lined “the pockets of landlords” and left tenants “to suffer the consequences.” A 2024 RGB report found that nearly half of tenants who live in rent-stabilized apartments in the city are considered rent burdened, meaning they pay 30 percent or more of their income towards rent.
“Once again, the Rent Guidelines Board has voted to increase rents on stabilized units across the city, jeopardizing the housing stability of more than one million tenants,” Adriene Holder, chief attorney of Legal Aid’s civil practice, said in a statement. “These needless rent hikes for an already struggling population will undoubtedly lead to increased rates of homelessness, eviction, and displacement.”
Landlords also criticized the vote. Jay Martin, president of the landlord association the Community Housing Improvement Program, called the board “broken” and said the rent increases fail to keep up with owners’ costs.
“The result is, like tonight, a rent adjustment that fails to cover inflation, nevermind the actual increases in operational costs, leading to lower quality housing for tenants,” Martin said.
How do I find a rent-stabilized apartment?
You can apply to NYC’s housing lottery to try to land a rent-stabilized apartment. Check eligibility requirements to ensure you qualify before you submitting your application.
Older rent-stabilized apartments are often found in buildings with six or more units that were built between 1947 and 1974. Check out Brick Underground’s best advice on finding a rent stabilized apartment.
Even if you’re a market-rate renter, you might be entitled to rent hike protections under the state’s recently passed Good Cause eviction law. If you’re covered by the law, you can use it to negotiate a rent increase below 8.82 percent at renewal time this year.
