Raise High The Rent Ceiling!

Gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer is calling for an increase in the price limit for rent stabilized apartments:

Spitzer, a Democrat and the state attorney general, floated the idea in the Bronx during a morning of campaigning dedicated to outlining his affordable housing policy.

Current law dictates that once the cost of a stabilized apartment exceeds $2,000 a month, the unit can be pulled from the rent regulation rolls and a market rate can be charged.

The issue, Spitzer said, is “should there be an inflation escalator there so that $2,000 figure doesn’t become effectively a much lower threshold as years go by.”

He did not say how high the threshold should be raised. A change to the $2,000 benchmark would require approval from state lawmakers.