Tenants in rent-stabilized buildings could be looking at paying more for their apartments, the New York Post reported.
The Rent Guidelines Board meets tonight to set new preliminary increases that might be above the 2 percent and 4 percent increases handed down last year for one- and two-year lease renewals.
Bigger hikes might be coming down the pike because landlord operating costs have jumped 5.9 percent, compared with 2.8 percent previously, according to the board’s annual survey. Landlords blamed their higher expenses on the cold winter, which required them to spend 20 percent more on heating oil.
The last time that landlords had such a big increase in their operating costs, in 2011, tenants saw rent increases of 3.75 percent and 7.25 percent.
The nine-member board generally increases rents by figures comparable to operating costs, although it isn’t bound by a formula. [NYP] –Hayley Kaplan