Edited by: TJVNews.com

Seems like the old adage of “the rent is too damn high” is really resonating with a great deal of New York City residents these days.  A report on Thursday in the New York Post indicated that the city’s rent board could allow the landlords who own roughly 1 million regulated apartments to hike rents by nearly 16% over the coming year, according to preliminary figures that were released.

In a report issued by the Rent Guidelines Board which is under the authority of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the potential rent increase of 15.75% for a two-year lease and an 8.25% rent hike for a one-year lease was posited as a potential worst case scenario in 2024, as was reported by the Post.

The Rent Guidelines Board report said that the figures are driven by the formidable escalation of inflation last year.

The average cost of running a building jumped by 8.1%, the report added, according to the Post report. Fuel costs took the number one spot in terms of monetary increases at 19.9%. The Post reported that it is often used for cooking and heating domiciles.

The analysis’ best-case scenario would also lead to 2024 rent hikes of 6.6% and 5.3% for two-year and one-year leases, respectively, the Post also reported.  The board, which is comprised of nine people, as was reported by The Post, cannot adopt lower or higher rents for New York City dwellers and are not compelled by numbers in the staff reports, and could adopt higher or lower rent hikes.

Last year, for example, the initial recommended increases for one-year leases were 2.7%-4.5%, while the staff report recommended hikes of 4.3%-9% for two-year leases, the Post reported.  Ultimately, the board backed a rise of 3.25% on one-year leases, and 5% for two-year leases.

Applying pressure for a lower package of rent hikes were far-left wing progressive activists from the Working Families Party who urged the mayor and his appointees to the board to jettison the figures that were put out, the Post reported. Joining in this call were city council members who represent those who are in a constant struggle to meet their monthly housing costs.

One such New York City council member who objected to the potential rent increases was Shahana Hanif (D-Brooklyn) who tweeted, “The Rent Guidelines Board should be ashamed. How out of touch can you be to suggest, in this time of economic uncertainty, that working-class tenants should endure a 16% rent hike. @NYCMayor – stop raising the rent.”

Supplying an immediate response was Press Secretary Fabien Levy who wrote: “No recommended or adopted increase has ever come close to this number, and this year will be no different.  Any group suggesting otherwise is irresponsibly fear mongering and doing a disservice to the working New Yorkers this administration is fighting for every day.”