Tenants celebrate preliminary OK on rent freeze

At the Rent Guidelines Board’s preliminary vote Tuesday, renters celebrated the proposed rent renewal increase range and the potential for a rent freeze in a one-year lease.

A yearly rent adjustment range of between 0 and 3 percent snagged a favorable vote of 8 to 1, as did a proposed increase between 0.5 and 4.5 percent for two-year leases, NY1 reported. Last year, by comparison, rents rose 4 percent for one-year leases and 7.75 percent for two-year deals.

The vote included a potential rent freeze for one-year leases, which was one of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign pledges. Among those who voted in favor of the freeze was one landlord representative, a rare occurrence as most landlord representatives have typically opposed freezes, as NY1 reported.

“The fact that we have the tenant representatives and a landlord representative and two people who were appointed under the Bloomberg administration agreeing that this is a fair range suggests that we are doing our job and we’ve created a fair range,” Rachel Godsil, the newly-appointed Rent Guidelines Board chair, told NY1.

Not everyone was in a celebratory mood, however, as other landlords complained of rising costs not being met by these increases. A final vote will be held on June 23. [NY1] — Sasha von Oldershausen