Rent freeze is over with hikes up to 2%

After two years of no rent increases, New Yorkers living in the city’s 1 million rent-stabilized apartments can expect hikes between 1.25 and 2 percent for leases signed between this October and September 2018.

The Rent Guidelines Board approved the increases of 1.25 percent on one-year leases and 2 percent on two-year agreements Tuesday night.

Advocates on both sides of the issue railed at the decision, with tenants arguing another freeze or a rollback is more appropriate and landlords saying the increases aren’t enough to cover mounting maintenance expenses.

Tenants who packed a Baruch College auditorium for the board hearing Tuesday night delayed its 7 p.m. start for more than an hour, chanting, “How low can you go?” and dancing the limbo in front of the stage.

“The mayor talks about affordable housing, but he does nothing,” said Kathy Wakeham, a retired social worker who lives in a one-bedroom rent-stabilized unit in the East Village. “He could’ve listened to tenants and he could’ve encouraged a rent rollback.”

The board, whose nine members are appointed by Mayor de Blasio, approved the hikes by a 7-2 vote.

Over the past two years, de Blasio has taken flak from landlord advocates, who contend the board basically acts as his rubber stamp.

Last year, they sued to overturn the rent freeze, but a judge upheld it in March, ruling that it’s OK for the board to take into account overall affordability for tenants.

“These rent increases are a recognition that rents must increase to pay for rising real-estate taxes and operating costs,” said Joseph Strasburg, president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents 25,000 landlords.

“But although a step in the right direction, these increases are totally inadequate.”

At a preliminary hearing in April, the two board members who represent landlords’ interests proposed increases of 4 percent on one-year leases and 6 percent on two-year agreements. But the two tenant representatives called for a window between a 4 percent decrease and a 2 percent increase, depending on the lease terms and the landlord’s situation. (The other five members represent the general public.)

Tenant rep Harvey Epstein said he would have preferred a rollback or a freeze, and voted for a freeze based on the increase range of between 1 and 4 percent the board compromised on in April.

“The rent rollback is what we need,” he said. “But that’s not what we’re going to get.”

De Blasio spokeswoman Melissa Grace hailed the vote, noting that the mayor’s tenure has been marked by “the lowest guidelines in history.”

“We will never go back to the days when the landlord lobby got big rent hikes,” she said. “We will continue to fight to keep this city affordable.”