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NEW YORK (PIX11) — With inflation hitting New Yorkers hard, the Rent Guidelines Board approved a rent increase for regulated units.

Rent will go up 3.25% for 1-year leases and 5% on 2-year leases for rent-stabilized units. The hike was approved in a 5-4 vote on Tuesday. Around 1 million apartments will be impacted.

Rent in regulated apartments was frozen in 2020. In 2021, the board voted on a partial freeze.

Mayor Eric Adams, who appointed several members to the Rent Guidelines Board, said the decision would be a burden to tenants. He said it was disappointing.

“At the same time, small landlords are at risk of bankruptcy because of years of no increases at all, putting building owners of modest means at risk while threatening the quality of life for tenants who deserve to live in well-maintained, modern buildings,” he said. “This system is broken, and we cannot pit landlords against tenants as winners and losers every year.”

Tenants fought to block hikes this year. They showed up at the vote, sharing stories of their financial burden.

The Legal Aid Society condemned the “shameful vote” as “unconscionable.”

“So many New Yorkers will now become just another statistic, adding to the burgeoning local homeless population, and those Board members who voted for this increase must recognize that this unacceptable reality will play out in the days, weeks and months ahead,” Chief Attorney of the Civil Practice at The Legal Aid Society Adriene Holder said.

Landlords argued they couldn’t afford to keep rents as they were. They said the money is needed to maintain buildings.