Rent regs deal imminent in Albany

Albany lawmakers have reached a tentative agreement on statewide rent regulations and a property tax cap, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos said today. According to NY1, Skelos said there’s a “framework” in place and that an official deal is hopefully near. The state’s rent laws expired this past Friday after months of negotiations failed to produce new legislation that both the Democrat-led Assembly and the Republican-led Senate could agree upon. While Republicans have been pushing to roll over the current rent regulations, Democrats want to expand and strengthen them. The city’s Rent Guidelines Board also held its final hearing today on rent hikes in apartments affected by rent regulations. It will vote next Monday on increases of up to 5.75 percent for one-year lease renewals and up to 9 percent for two-year lease renewals. [NY1]