Rental Ruckus

It was landlords vs. rent-stabilized tenants last night as the second of five Rent Guidelines Board meetings took place. The RGB sets the allowable rent increases for the city's one million plus rent-stabilized apartments — increases that are supposed to be based on the supply of available apartments, the cost of building ownership and cost of living throughout the city.

According to Gothamist, the tenant advocates repeatedly claimed the landlords were making an unfair profit and not putting in necessary repairs on the apartments. The landlord advocates said that their costs were skyrocketing and that without a large increase, they'd have to sell their buildings.

"I see two New Yorks," Adriene Holder, a tenant board member, said in a New York Times article. "I see one increasingly affluent. And I see another one increasingly, increasingly becoming more poor." She added, "Landlords are hardly impoverished, landlords are hardly hurting, landlords are hardly poor."

The board took a preliminary vote and agreed on 3 to 6.5 percent increases for 1-year renewals; and 5 to 8.5% increases for 2-year leases. If the board settles on the middle of the ranges (4.75/6.75%), that would be a lot higher than last year's 2.75 and 5.5% increases. The next meeting is on June 1st, with a final vote on June 27th.