Landlord Group Demands de Blasio Cap Owners' Expenses

In the wake of the Rent Guidelines Board vote that capped rent increases at the lowest hike in the board’s 45-year history, the Rent Stabilization Association (RSA) has called upon Mayor Bill de Blasio to keep taxes and other building owner costs down.

The group stated that the mayor should seek the same level of cap on city-mandated costs, like property-tax assessments and water and sewer rates, over the next 12 months. Those expenses account for 40 percent of costs for buildings' owners, the group said. Specifically, it called for the de Blasio administration to cap increases in property tax assessments and water and sewer rates at 1 percent – the same ceiling placed on rent increases.

De Blasio recently remarked that he was “proud” his Fiscal Year 2015 budget does not raise taxes, since overall rates aren't increasing. But the RSA has pointed out that many owners across the city are indeed facing another spike in their tax bills. This is due to an increase in the overall assessed value. Rental buildings fall into a tax category known as class 2, and the total taxable assessed value for those properties is up 6.84 percent.