Lately, we’ve seen some cases of owners running into trouble when they've tried to increase the rents in formerly rent-stabilized buildings. But in New York, the city with about 1 million rent-stabilized units, The Rent Guidelines Board voted to approve rent increases of up to 2 percent on one-year leases and 4 percent on two-year leases, according to the New York Times. That’s much smaller than landlords on the board wanted, and less than the 3.75 percent on one-year leases and 7.25 percent on two-year leases that the board approved last year. Dallas-based Axiometrics says effective rents rose in the Big Apple 4.2 percent last year, and the market research firm projects another 6.2 percent this year and 4.9 percent next year, showing that there are indeed advantages to living in a rent-stabilized apartment.