Oil Prices: No Excuse for Rent Increase?
by Kenny Schaeffer

Even as the Rent Stabilization Association is clamoring for steep rent increases due to a temporary increase in fuel prices, they are telling their own members that prices have peaked.

In a handout entitled “Fuel for Thought,” the RSA tells landlords that through its group purchasing power, “very low competitive prices for #2, #4 and #6 heating oil” can be obtained in buildings with “any size storage tank.” The leaflet states that under this program, prices for #2 heating oil decreased 30% in three weeks last winter, from $1.52 a gallon on Feb. 1 to $1.07 on Feb. 20. For #4 oil, the price declined 19% in 10 days, from $1.14 on Feb. 10 to $0.92 on Feb. 20, and for #6 oil, the price fell 14% in the same period, from $1.00 to $0.86.