Court Holds Off Rent Rise in NYC Housing for People With HIV

A federal court in Brooklyn last night blocked a rent increase that would have affected 2,200 New York City residents with HIV/AIDS living in government-subsidized housing. The court delayed the increase for 45 days to study the legal details, said attorneys for the city and Housing Works, which filed the suit on behalf of nine residents and operates 72 subsidized apartments. The increase was to have taken effect Wednesday.

Advocates said the state Office of Temporary Disability Assistance (OTDA) forced the city to increase the proportion of rent residents with HIV/AIDS must pay. "Although the city prefers to maintain the status quo, we were bound by the state," Martine Bowe, a city attorney, wrote in an e-mail. State officials maintain the city has not paid the bills for subsidies above what state law allows.

"The city's been informed of this for many years," said Michael Hayes, an OTDA spokesperson. "They are choosing now to implement the change."

Housing Works says federal rules, in the various federally subsidized housing programs, limit tenants' proportion of rent to 30 percent of their incomes, including for units designated for people with AIDS. That is what tenants now pay for subsidized housing in the city, the group said, and what they say governs the cap on rent.

Advocates and tenants planned to protest the increase today outside Gov. George Pataki's Manhattan office.

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