(DNAINFO)  Valeria Ricciulli | May 4, 2016 — The new measure would allow one-year leases’ rent to remain the same or increase only up to 2 percent.

The city’s Rent Guidelines Board voted Tuesday to consider rent freezes for the city’s nearly 1 million rent stabilized units.

The preliminary vote to raise rents for one-year leases between 0 and 2 percent passed 5-4, with the members who represent tenants’ and owners’ interests all voting against it, the Board’s executive director, Andrew McLaughlin, told DNAinfo.

Over the next several weeks, the nine-member board will also consider raising rents on two-year leases between 0.5 to 3.5 percent — following last year’s first-ever freeze for rent-stabilized apartments.

The board based its proposal on an RGB study that showed that the price of operating for rent-stabilized apartments decreased 1.2 percent this year, mostly due to the fact that fuel costs decreased 41.2 percent. Another study found that the city’s unemployment rate fell in 2015 by 1.5 percent.

The changes would take effect on all lease renewals after Oct. 1, 2016.

Source: Rent Guidelines Board Considering Rent Freeze on 1-Year Leases – Midtown – DNAinfo New York