The annual battle over rent hikes for people living in a million rent-regulated apartments in New York City started on Thursday.<\/p>\n
It was the first meeting of the Rent Guidelines Board with new members appointed by Mayor Mamdani.<\/p>\n
During the campaign, Mamdani had promised to make housing affordable by freezing rent.<\/p>\n
New York City has the lowest vacancy rate of any major city in America.<\/p>\n
More than 98% of all apartments are occupied, which means that apartment hunters are vying for fewer than 2% of the city’s housing stock.<\/p>\n
With rents rising to historic levels, the Rent Guidelines Board is facing unprecedented pressure to hold the line on the 40% of apartments that are rent-regulated.<\/p>\n
At its first meeting on Thursday, the board heard from Emily Eisner of the Fiscal Policy Institute.<\/p>\n
“When it comes to like, how much rent they’re bringing in and what it cost to maintain a building, most of the buildings in the city are healthy,” Eisner said.<\/p>\n
Mayor Mamdani made it a signature issue in last year’s campaign.<\/p>\n
And later made good on his pledge to appoint half a dozen members of the nine-member board. On Thursday, he posted a new video on social media.<\/p>\n
“This process started today with their first report, which showed that buildings with rent-stabilized apartments saw their revenue increase by more than 6% last year,” he said in the video.<\/p>\n
Citywide, the median monthly rent on a rent-stabilized one-bedroom is roughly $1,500. The asking rent for an unregulated one-bedroom? $3,800.<\/p>\n
Many buildings are deep in debt and nearly 10% are considered distressed. Some experts question the wisdom of a rent freeze, amid rising costs for landlords.<\/p>\n
“Property taxes are up double-digits, insurance is through the roof. Costs like water, sewer labor, maintenance-all of this that comes in, especially from local laws passed by the city, are not capped in their costs,” Kenny Burgos with the New York Apartment Association said.<\/p>\n
Mark Willis studies rents at NYU’s Furman Center.<\/p>\n
“I think the board has an impossible task to try and satisfy both the concerns about affordability and the concerns about the financial sustainability of the buildings,” Willis said.<\/p>\n
The board has a series of meetings on the calendar and will get an earful from landlords and tenants before a final vote in June.<\/p>\n
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