Overview
- New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board, which met Thursday in Queens, advanced ranges of 0%–2% for one-year leases and 0%–4% for two-year leases in a 7–1 vote with one abstention.
- The ranges include a possible freeze on both one- and two-year leases for about 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, marking the first time a two-year freeze is formally on the table.
- Tenant-aligned members sought rollbacks of 3% on one-year and 4.5% on two-year leases, while owner representatives pushed for increases up to 5.5% and 8%, but both proposals failed.
- The nine-member board will take public testimony across the boroughs before a binding vote on June 25, which will set rent caps that apply to renewals beginning October 1.
- Board data show net operating income rose roughly 6% citywide as operating costs climbed 5.3%, though distress is concentrated in older, majority-stabilized buildings; tenants press for a freeze to stave off displacement, while landlord groups warn a freeze would worsen building conditions and urge higher or split increases for pre-1973 properties.