Three Mayoral Candidates Want Rent Freeze
At a Rent Guidelines Board hearing Thursday, three Democratic mayoral candidates spoke in favor of freezing rents for regulated apartments. Usually, candidates for office do not attend rent hearings. Those in favor were Christine Quinn, Bill de Blasio, and John Liu, The New York Times reported. The recommendations come at a time of quickly rising…
At a Rent Guidelines Board hearing Thursday, three Democratic mayoral candidates spoke in favor of freezing rents for regulated apartments. Usually, candidates for office do not attend rent hearings. Those in favor were Christine Quinn, Bill de Blasio, and John Liu, The New York Times reported. The recommendations come at a time of quickly rising market rents and sales prices throughout the City, particularly in Brooklyn. Last year, the board approved increases of 2 percent to 4 percent. This year they are considering higher increases: 3.25 percent to 6.25 percent for a one-year lease and 5 percent to 9.5 percent for a two-year lease. They are also considering an additional increase for those who currently pay less than $1,000 a month. The ruling will not affect market rate rents, only those in rent stabilized or rent controlled apartments. Do you think a freeze would help make housing in Brooklyn more affordable?
Photo by Marie-Laure Even
San Francisco is currently experiencing the realities of these kinds of rent control policies – super high rents, low turnover in rent controlled apartments and low supply of apartments. Many landlords who live buildings with in-law apts or cottages in the back will simply pull that inventory off the market for good because they don’t want to deal with the disaster that is rent control in this city. That results in even lower supply and further exacerbates the problem. Having witnessed the realities in SF, I am no longer a fan of rent control. If the government wants to provide rent relief to a subset of citizens, it should be a need-based program and the cost shared by all taxpayers rather than by individual landlords.
I still can’t get over the board approving increases during the height of the financial crisis
Oh it’s an election year! What else is new?
I agree with the first two commentators. Now to your question: “Do you think a freeze would help make housing in Brooklyn more affordable?”
Of course not. It will only directly benefit those in rent-stabilized units. And it will indirectly make market rate units MORE expensive. Econ 101, people. Econ 101.
Please ask good questions.
Want to see the candidates turn into contortions? Ask if it is fair that 2-5 family homeowners have limits on the upward movement of their property taxes owed, but not on the rents they can charge.
The goal of the property tax increase limit is to prevent people from being pushed out of their homes by taxes as prices rise relative to their incomes. But the homeowner still gets the windfall if they sell, and a windfall of rising rents as well.
Moreover, because the deal passed in 1982, places that have come relatively more expensive since then, such as Brownstone Brooklyn, get a much better deal than places that were more expensive back in the day. Thus it is likely that John Liu pays more in property taxes than Bill DeBlasio, assuming they both own homes, even though DeBlasio’s home might be worth more. Each would be favored, relative to income earned, over a low income recent college grad or immigrant in a multiple dwelling, paying property taxes as part of their rent.
Among the effects of this rule are locking empty nesters into place, in a city where only 1/3 of the housing units (and going down) have three or more bedrooms, vs. two thirds nationally. I benefit from the deal, but if we were ever to downsize to a condo, freeing up our house for a family, our monthy cost of housing could rise, not what you would want as retirement looms.
Those who benefit most from the various deals on housing, in fact, are seniors. Thompson proposed even more breaks for seniors back in 2006.
Just let BB have a second first term.
There is plenty of affordable housing. It just isn’t in NYC. The whole country/world just can’t fit in one place.