{"id":1678,"date":"2026-06-10T09:07:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T09:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1678"},"modified":"2026-06-10T09:07:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T09:07:55","slug":"nycs-failing-small-landlords-deserve-a-rent-guidelines-board-split-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1678","title":{"rendered":"NYC’s failing small landlords deserve a Rent Guidelines Board split decision"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled his Block by Block housing plan last month \u2014 a plan that\u2019s more anti-landlord politics than actual policy \u2014 the target on the backs of small rent-stabilized property owners grew even bigger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Small owners were already bracing for a punch to the gut this month, when the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board, now dominated by Mamdani appointees, will consider a rent freeze for one- and two-year leases on the city\u2019s nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments.<\/p>\n

With the mayor\u2019s majority control over the RGB, we fear the worst: A rent freeze is\u00a0one of the few campaign promises Mamdani can deliver without needing state legislation or Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A freeze would be a knockout blow for financially and physically distressed rent-stabilized buildings \u2014 and for thousands of vulnerable mom-and-pop, generational and immigrant owners operating under obstructive laws and constantly escalating costs.<\/p>\n

It seems Mamdani is setting small owners up for failure, clearing the way for a sinister plan to seize private property and convert it into socialist housing operated by his nonprofit and land-trust cronies.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no coincidence that a week before Mamdani unveiled his housing plan, the City Council reintroduced the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, a predatory law that would force financially distressed property owners to sell their buildings below market price to a pool of Mamdani-approved nonprofit housing providers.<\/p>\n

The RGB, now engaged in a series of public hearings before its final rent adjustment vote on June 25, can choose a different path.<\/p>\n

Board members must take a clear-eyed look at the RGB\u2019s own research and data, listen to the independent economists warning of record numbers of financially distressed rent-stabilized properties, and reject City Hall\u2019s politics.<\/p>\n

They \u2014 and Mamdani, too \u2014 have a unique opportunity to change this broken, one-sided system that works against small owners, the backbone of the city\u2019s affordable housing ecosystem, and the families we house.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We challenge the mayor and his board to support a bifurcated, or \u201csplit,\u201d rent adjustment that provides higher allowable rent increases for small rent-stabilized property owners.<\/p>\n

That would provide real help to pre-1974 rental properties, which are mostly 100% or majority rent-stabilized.<\/p>\n

Split-rent adjustments would address the fundamentally different economic challenges between older housing stock and newer construction.<\/p>\n

The RGB one-size-fits-all rent policy no longer works.<\/p>\n

Older, distressed rent-stabilized buildings are saddled with constant and expensive repairs and upgrades to major systems like roofs, plumbing, heating, electrical and brickwork.<\/p>\n

The RGB must separate this aging housing stock from other types of rent-stabilized units \u2014 such as those owned by profitable large institutional landlords, or those found in Manhattan high-rises and in newer construction benefitting from special tax subsidies.<\/p>\n

Read more Look who saved the day when Zohran Mamdani\u2019s Bryant Park \u2018warmth of collectivism\u2019 grew too hot<\/a><\/p>\n

The RGB will be voting on a preliminary across-the-board increase range of 0% to 2% for a one-year lease \u2014 a laughable range that completely\u00a0ignores its own data.<\/p>\n

Its new report on the Price Index of Operating Costs found that operating costs and expenses of rent-stabilized housing rose 5.3% from April 2025 to March 2026.<\/p>\n

Large institutional landlords can handle such a near-freeze on rents.<\/p>\n

Small ones don\u2019t have the resources to do so.<\/p>\n

Given the RGB\u2019s own numbers, to keep their heads above water and their properties out of foreclosure, small-property owners need a rent increase of at least 5.3%.<\/p>\n

And what with the costs of keeping older buildings in good order, operating costs have risen even higher<\/em> than that for small owners, who are buckling under the burden of a decade\u2019s worth of underfunded rent adjustments.<\/p>\n

From 2016 to 2025, the RGB\u00a0provided 14% in rent increases \u2014 while the Consumer Price Index rose 28.63%.<\/p>\n

Add it up, and that\u2019s a negative 13.98% in real rent growth rate for rent-stabilized apartments over the last 10 years.<\/p>\n

Yet the RGB is free to set rent orders outside an across-the-board percentage adjustment.<\/p>\n

In fact, there is precedent: In the past, the RGB has set a separate flat-rate increase, which it called a \u201clow rent adjustment,\u201d for apartments whose rents fell below a specific level.<\/p>\n

This provided an assist for small owners who needed help to maintain and operate low-rent units.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

A Mamdani-backed split-rent adjustment would be a signal that the mayor values small owners as partners in tackling the city\u2019s affordable housing crisis.<\/p>\n

It would be a lifeline for small owners and the families we house.<\/p>\n

But policies like Block by Block, COPA and a rent freeze ignore the disproportionate economic pressures and unique financial realities of small rent-stabilized owners.<\/p>\n

They would undermine neighborhoods, block by block, of the housing stability and affordability that Mamdani claims to champion.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018X-Men\u2019 star Tyler Mane reveals breast cancer diagnosis<\/a><\/p>\n

Ann Korchak is president of Small Property Owners of New York.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Rent Guidelines Board must take a clear-eyed look at its own research and data \u2014 and reject City Hall\u2019s politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nNYC's failing small landlords deserve a Rent Guidelines Board split decision - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1678\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NYC's failing small landlords deserve a Rent Guidelines Board split decision - 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