The New York City Rent Guidelines Board voted this week for a zero percent increase on one-year lease renewals for rent-stabilized apartments. The vote marks the second straight year the board approved a rent freeze for one-year lease renewals. The board also approved an increase of two percent on two-year leases. This decision affects nearly half of the city’s rental housing, and takes effect October 1.

For the 1.2 million New Yorkers who live in a rent-stabilized unit:

• If you sign a one-year renewal on your lease between 10/1/2016 and 9/30/2017, your rent should not increase.

• If you sign a two-year renewal on your lease between 10/1/2016 and 9/30/2017, your rent should increase 2 percent.

• If you are facing any sort of harassment from your landlord, call 311 immediately and report it.

The Rent Guidelines Board based its decision on months of research into the costs and pressures facing owners and tenants, and on the voices of residents who engaged in the Rent Guidelines Board’s public hearing process.

Access to affordable housing through rent regulation is critical for middle- and low-income families. Many New Yorkers are severely rent burdened, and an increasing percentage of incomes are spent on housing. In some cases, more than half of a household’s income is spent on rent.

Read the complete guidelines here, or for more information, contact Nina Akopyan, MDC’s Bilingual Housing Counselor, at 718-376-0999.