Court rules for steeper rent increases on long-term stabilized tenants

The New York State of Appeals ruled today that the regulatory agency responsible for overseeing rent-stabilized units will be allowed to impose extra rent increases on long-term tenants paying less than $1,000 a month, according to the New York Times. The New York City Rent Guidelines Board began lobbying on the issue in 2008, arguing that tenants living in a rent-stabilized building over a longer course of time get advantages not afforded to shorter-term residents. Under the new rule, landlords will be able to hand down greater proportional increases on residents paying less than $1,000 who have been in the same rent-stabilized apartment for longer than six years. Jeffrey Turkel, an attorney with Rosenberg & Estis, who represented the landlords, said that the measure was critical in order for landlords to cover regular maintenance. “There are certain tenants who, because they’ve been in occupancy so long, pay rents that are so low that those rents don’t cover expenses,” Turkel said. [NYT]