Are 2 million New Yorkers about to get a rent freeze? This landlord advocate says it could be a disaster.
By Marcia Kramer, Mark Prussin
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NEW YORK, New York (WCBS) — Are two million New Yorkers living in rent-stabilized apartments about to get a rent freeze?
The New York City Rent Guidelines Board recently voted to support 0-4% rent increases, opening the door for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s signature campaign promise to freeze the rent to become a reality.
“Politics is presiding more than data” Kenny Burgos, the head of the New York Apartment Association, a group representing landlords of buildings with rent-stabilized tenants, believes a total rent freeze could spell disaster for the city by putting too much pressure on landlords.
“This housing stock is almost mirroring what we saw in the 70s. There’s almost no value in a rent-stabilized building today because there’s no path to cover the expenses,” Burgos said Sunday on CBS News New York’s “The Point with Marcia Kramer.”
“The city keeps increasing the cost, but is capping on the revenue … There’s nowhere to release the pressure anymore,” he added.
Mamdani, who aggressively campaigned on improving affordability, appointed six of the nine Rent Guidelines Board members, who on Thursday held a preliminary vote supporting 0-2% raises on one-year leases and 0-4% raises on two-year leases. A final vote will be taken on June 25 after additional public meetings.
“Just the fact that they would put a zero in the range is shocking in and of itself,” Burgos said. “Nothing in their data would even warrant [a rent freeze] … But it does seem the politics is presiding more than data.”
An affordability crisis for landlords too Burgos said the affordability crisis doesn’t just apply to tenants, suggesting a rent freeze could lead to deferred maintenance and sub-standard housing because property owner’ budgets are too thin.
“Putting a blanket rent freeze on a regulated housing stock that has a median rent of $1,500 and is facing a double-digit increase in costs on insurance, on property taxes, on water, sewer, labor, and fuel, this is how you can squeeze the operations and you get these sub-standard housing conditions,” he said.
Burgos said the mayor should be looking at other ways to help tenants with affordability. He suggested expanding CityFHEPS, a rental assistance program meant to fight homelessness, even though the city might not be able to afford it.
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