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Well, some outrage today after the New York City Rent Guidelines Board proposes new rent hikes for stabilized apartments
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Tenant advocates condemning the proposal, warning this will worsen displacement and financial hardship for low-income renters
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Fox's Antoine Lewis is here to break all of this down for us. Antoine. Okay, Bianca, I'm just the messenger here
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Again, I want to let everyone know these are preliminary recommendations, but what we're talking about impacts about half of the apartments in New York City
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So let's take a look at this information. And by a vote of five to four last night, the Rent Guidelines Board recommended increases between 1.75 percent and 4.75 percent on one year leases and between 4.75 percent and 7.75 on two year leases
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Now, the hikes would affect leases that begin on or after October the 1st
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There are roughly a million rent stabilized apartments in the city. Both sides have strong opinions on the subject every time it comes up
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Landlords say any increase is not enough to cover escalating expenses. Tenants always accuse landlords of trying to increase their profit margins while giving little in return
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Much of this housing was built before 1974. It takes a lot of money to upkeep aging buildings
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And, you know, small property owners in particular do not have access to institutional capital
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They are working off of their rent rolls. and we need to increase rents so that improvements can be made
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and maintenance repairs can be made as well. They claim hardship, the landlords
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but we don't see the money going into our buildings. We see the money going into their pockets
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We still live in disrepair. A series of public meetings will be held over the next few weeks
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The board is expected to make its final vote sometime in June
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Going to be interesting there, Bianca. Absolutely. Infecting a whole lot of people too. Antoine, thanks so much
