Section 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 level
  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.
    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.
    * NB Expires April 1, 2012