Rent Guidelines Board Announces Public Meeting Schedule, Preliminary Vote

NEW YORK, NY — The Rent Guidelines Board will begin its public meeting process at the end of March, and will hold a preliminary vote on whether to raise, rollback or freeze rents on rent stabilized housing in April.

The board — composed of nine members appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio — could vote to freeze rents on rent stabilized housing for the third straight year. But a more likely outcome could be the first rent increase in two years, according to housing reports commissioned by the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) last year.

Last year the RGB voted in favor of a one-year rent freeze for one year leases and a 2 percent rent increase for two year leases signed starting Oct. 1, 2016 and ending Sept. 31, 2017. Seven of the nine board members voted in favor of the rent freeze and two members — representing landlords — voted to abstain.

Last year's housing reports commissioned by the RGB determined that the cost of operating rent-stabilized apartments has decreased 1.2 percent in 2016. The RGB's commissioned housing reports for 2017 have not yet been released, but last year's report calculated that the price of operating rent-stabilized buildings will increase a projected 5.5 percent next year, which doesn't bode well for tenants.

Here is the public meeting schedule:

• Thursday, March 30, 9:30 a.m.;
  • Public meeting;
  • 1 Centre St. — Landmarks Preservation Commission conference room;
• Thursday, April 13, 9:30 a.m.;
  • Public meeting;
  • 1 Centre St. — Landmarks Preservation Commission conference room;
• Thursday, April 20, 9:30 a.m.;
  • Invited group testimony;
    • Apartment tenants at 9:45-11:45 a.m.;
    • Apartment owners at 1-3 p.m. ;
    • Hotel tenants at 3-3:45 p.m. ;
    • Hotel owners at 3:45 p.m.;
  • 1 Centre St. — Landmarks Preservation Commission conference room;
• Tuesday, April 25, 7 p.m.;
  • Preliminary vote;
  • 7 E. 7th St. — The Great Hall at Cooper Union

Photo by Patch