Posted on November 10, 2015 by Mireya Navarro in The New York Times The New York Times, By Mireya Navarro As New York City officials encourage older tenants to take advantage of an underused program that freezes their rents, they have also been cutting off participants who fail to renew on time, advocates say. The Rent Freeze Program allows tenants 62 and older to lock their rent at the current rate if they live in a rent-regulated apartment, have an annual income of no more than $50,000 and pay more than a third of their household income in rent. The program, which gives landlords property tax abatements and costs the city $139 million a year, is intended to protect older New Yorkers from escalating rents and help them remain in their homes.
