Vote could lead to “unprecedented” rent freeze

Board gives preliminary OK to plan barring hike for some non-market-rate tenants

Board tenant rep Harvey Epstein and Rachel Godsil
Board tenant rep Harvey Epstein and Rachel Godsil

The city’s Rent Guidelines Board took a preliminary vote on Monday in favor of a potential rent freeze for rent-stabilized tenants with one-year leases. If approved next month in a final vote, it would be a first for the city.

Under the plan, tenants with one-year leases could see a rent hike between 0 and 3 percent, meaning there might be no increase at all. Rent increases for two-year leases would be in range of 0.5 percent and 4.5 percent. The board approved the proposal by 8-to-1 on a preliminary basis, though some landlords are unhappy with the initial outcome. Percentages would be set at the time of the final approval.

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“It is outrageous. It is unprecedented,” Jack Freund of the Rent Stabilization Association told the New York Daily News.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who supports a one-year freeze for rent-stabilized tenants, appointed six members of the nine-member board to date. [NYDN]Mark Maurer