The New York rent guidelines board voted five to four in favor of a 3percent rise for one-year leases, while two-year leases will see an increasing rate of 2.75 percent in the first year and 3.2 percent for the second.
The rent hikes come into effect starting October 1st. According to the board’s 2021 housing survey, almost 2.3 million rental units in New York are renter occupied. Tenants and housing activists protested against the rent increase, holding up posters with slogans such as ‘rent is too damn high’ and ‘zero percent’.
Around half of the city’s households are burdened by housing costs, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on shelter. New York city has struggled to create affordable housing units for its residents over the past decades, and the latest rise comes after prices in the greater New York area rose by 6.1 percent last year, the highest rate in about 40 years.
