Council aims for more control of rents

The City Council could gain more control of rent-regulated apartments if new legislation becomes law. The bill would give the Council the power to approve members of the Rent Guidelines Board, which controls rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments. Council Member Letitia James plans to file a resolution asking the
state Legislature to pass the bill, which state Senator Thomas Duane
and Assemblyman George Latimer plan to submit in Albany. The bill would also change the way rents are increased. Instead of basing increases on landlords’ operating costs, they would be based on landlords’ net incomes. Also, tenants would no longer have to renew leases, but would instead be allowed to remain in their homes as long as they pay the rent.

The president of the Rent Stabilization Association, Frank Ricci, said he opposes the bill because it “ignores the reality of rising taxes, rising fuel prices, and rising water rates, to make this a more political process than it already is.”