By Michael V. Cusenza
The City Rent Guidelines Board on Tuesday approved a range for rent-stabilized lease increases of 2 percent to 4.5 percent for one-year leases and 4 percent to 6.5 percent for two-year leases in a preliminary vote at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City.
The panel, composed of nine members selected by Mayor Eric Adams and two tenant representatives, will deliver its binding vote next month. Both tenant reps defiantly withdrew from the dais before the votes were even tallied, according to a Gothamist report.
![Photo Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office “[W]e can work to stabilize buildings and neighborhoods, all while keeping tenants in their homes,” Mayor Adams said.](http://theforumnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RentGuidelinesVote2.jpg)
Photo Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
“[W]e can work to stabilize buildings and neighborhoods, all while keeping tenants in their homes,” Mayor Adams said.
“Tenants are feeling the squeeze of a decades-long affordability crisis, which has been accelerated by restrictive zoning laws and inadequate tools that have made it harder and harder to build housing. Our team is taking a close look at the preliminary ranges voted on by the Rent Guidelines Board this evening and while the Board has the challenging task of striking a balance between protecting tenants from infeasible rent increases and ensuring property owners can maintain their buildings as costs continue to rise, I must be clear that a 6.5 percent increase goes far beyond what is reasonable to ask tenants to take on at this time. I know well that small property owners also face growing challenges, and I encourage them to work with the city to utilize our many preservation tools so that, together, we can work to stabilize buildings and neighborhoods, all while keeping tenants in their homes,” Adams said.
