Sec. 26-510. RENT GUIDELINES BOARD.
a. There shall be a rent guidelines board to consist of nine
members, appointed by the mayor. Two members shall be
representative of tenants, two shall be representative of
owners of property, and five shall be public members each of
whom shall have had at least five years experience in either
finance, economics or housing. One public member shall be
designated by the mayor to serve as chairman and shall hold
no other public office. No member, officer or employee of
any municipal rent regulation agency or the state division
of housing and community renewal and no person who owns or
manages real estate covered by this law or who is an officer
of any owner or tenant organization shall serve on a rent
guidelines board. One public member, one member
representative of tenants and one member representative of
owners shall serve for a term ending two years from January
first next succeeding the date of their appointment; one
public member, one member representative of tenants and one
member representative of owners shall serve for terms ending
three years from the January first next succeeding the date
of their appointment and two public members shall serve for
terms ending four years from January first next succeeding
the dates of their appointment. The chairman shall serve at
the pleasure of the mayor. Thereafter, all members shall
continue in office until their successors have been
appointed and qualified. The mayor shall fill any vacancy
which may occur by reason of death, resignation or otherwise
in a manner consistent with the original appointment. A
member may be removed by the mayor for cause, but not
without an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel,
in his or her defense, upon not less than ten days notice.
b. The rent guidelines board shall establish annually
guidelines for rent adjustments, and in determining whether
rents for housing accommodations subject to the emergency
tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four or this law
shall be adjusted shall consider, among other things (1) the
economic condition of the residential real estate industry
in the affected area including such factors as the
prevailing and projected (i) real estate taxes and sewer and
water rates, (ii) gross operating maintenance costs
(including insurance rates governmental fees, cost of fuel
and labor costs), (iii) costs and availability of financing
(including effective rates of interest), (iv) over-all
supply of housing accommodations and over-all vacancy rates,
(2) relevant data from the current and projected cost of
living indices for the affected area, (3) such other data as
may be made available to it. Not later than July first of
each year, the rent guidelines board shall file with the
city clerk its findings for the preceding calendar year, and
shall accompany such findings with a statement of the
maximum rate or rates of rent adjustment, if any, for one or
more classes of accommodations subject to this law,
authorized for leases or other rental agreements commencing
on the next succeeding October first or within the twelve
months thereafter. Such findings and statement shall be
published in the City record.
c. Such members shall be compensated on a per diem basis of one
hundred dollars per day for no more than twenty-five days a
year except that the chairman shall be compensated at one
hundred twenty-five dollars a day for no more than fifty
days a year. The chairman shall be chief administrative
officer of the rent guidelines board and among his or her
powers and duties he or she shall have the authority to
employ, assign and supervise the employees of the rent
guidelines board and enter into contracts for consultant
services. The department of housing preservation and
development shall cooperate with the rent guidelines board
and may assign personnel and perform such services in
connection with the duties of the rent guidelines board as
may reasonably be required by the chairman.
d. Any housing accommodation covered by this law owned by a
member in good standing of an association registered with
the department of housing preservation and development
pursuant to section 26-511 of this chapter which becomes
vacant for any reason, other than harassment of the prior
tenant, may be offered for rental at any price
notwithstanding any guideline level established by the
guidelines board for renewal leases, provided the offering
price does not exceed the rental then authorized by the
guidelines board for such dwelling unit plus five percent
for a new lease not exceeding two years and a further five
percent for a new lease having a minimum term of three
years, until July first nineteen hundred seventy, at which
time the guidelines board shall determine what the rental
for a vacancy shall be.
e. With respect to hotel dwelling units, covered by this law
pursuant to section 26-506 of this chapter, the council,
after receipt of a study from the rent guidelines board,
shall establish a guideline for rent increases, irrespective
of the limitations on amount of increase in subdivision d
hereof, which guideline shall apply only to permanent
tenants. A permanent tenant is an individual or family who
at any time since May thirty-first, nineteen hundred sixty-
eight, or hereafter, has continuously resided in the same
hotel as a principal residence for a period of at least six
months. On January first, nineteen hundred seventy-one and
once annually each succeeding year the rent guidelines board
shall cause a review to be made of the levels of fair rent
increases provided under this subdivision and may establish
different levels of fair rent increases for hotel dwelling
units renting within different rental ranges based upon the
board's consideration of conditions in the market for hotel
accommodations and the economics of hotel real estate. Any
hotel dwelling unit which is voluntarily vacated by the
tenant thereof may be offered for rental at the guideline
eve for vacancies established by the rent guidelines board.
If a hotel dwelling unit becomes vacant because the prior
tenant was evicted therefrom, there shall be no increase in
the rental thereof except for such increases in rental that
the prior tenant would have had to pay had he or she
continued in occupancy.
g.* From September twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred sixty-nine
until the rate of permissible increase is established by the
council pursuant to subdivision e of this section, there
shall not be collected from any permanent hotel tenant any
rent increase in excess of ten percent over the rent payable
for his or her dwelling unit on May thirty-first, nineteen
hundred sixty-eight, except for hardship increases
authorized by the conciliation and appeals board. Any owner
who collects or permits any rent to be collected in excess
of the amount authorized by this subdivision shall not be
eligible to be a member in good standing of a hotel industry
stabilization association.
* So in original. No paragraph (f) was enacted.
h. The rent guidelines board prior to the annual adjustment of
the level of fair rents provided for under subdivision b of
this section for dwelling units and hotel dwelling units
covered by this law, shall hold a public hearing or hearings
for the purpose of collecting information relating to all
factors set forth in subdivision b of this section. Notice
of the date, time, location and summary of subject matter
for the public hearing or hearings shall be published in the
city record daily for a period of not less than eight days
and at least once in one or more newspapers of general
circulation at least eight days immediately preceding each
hearing date, at the expense of the city of New York, and
the hearing shall be open for testimony from any individual,
group, association or representative thereof who wants to
testify.
i. Maximum rates of rent adjustment shall not be established
more than once annually for any housing accommodation within
the board's jurisdiction. Once established, no such rate
shall, within the one-year period, be adjusted by any
surcharge, supplementary adjustment or other modification.