David Brand

2 weeks ago | gothamist.com | David Brand

The panel that sets rent for tenants in roughly 1 million regulated apartments is considering an increase of 1.75 to 4.25% on new one-year leases and 4.75 to 7.75% on two-year leases. New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board voted on the range at an annual meeting Wednesday night. The nine-member board uses the figures as a framework ahead of a final vote in late June. The city will hold the first public hearing on the proposed increase on May 22 in Manhattan.

2 weeks ago | gothamist.com | David Brand

Thousands of low-income New York City tenants who use city assistance to cover their housing costs could soon face a rent hike when they renew the aid, under a new plan from Mayor Eric Adams’ administration. The city’s Department of Social Services is seeking to require many households that receive CityFHEPS vouchers to pay 40% of their income toward rent in their sixth year of eligibility, up from the current rate of 30%.

2 weeks ago | gothamist.com | David Brand |Jon Campbell

New York’s state budget will include “about $50 million” to establish a new housing assistance subsidy for low-income renters after years of advocacy from tenant groups and homeless rights activists, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday. The proposed Housing Assistance Voucher Program, or HAVP, has received the endorsement of landlord groups, labor unions and leaders in the state Senate and Assembly, who have pursued the subsidy through the budget for the past three years.

2 weeks ago | gothamist.com | David Brand

New York City has spent billions of dollars building and rehabilitating sorely needed affordable housing for low- and middle-income renters over the past decade. But there’s been a longstanding hitch in the strategy for tackling the city’s severe housing crisis: Thousands of those apartments can sit empty for months after the original tenants leave.

3 weeks ago | gothamist.com | David Brand

New York City’s consumer protection agency is putting some force behind an upcoming ban on most residential broker fees, with a plan to fine offenders up to $2,000 per violation. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection released a list of proposed penalties last week for enforcing the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act, which is meant to eliminate the hefty upfront fees for prospective tenants.