Segundo Manuel and his family of four pay about $1,500 a month to rent their small Queens studio apartment. Mauel says they’re barely making ends meet.

“I used to live with my sister, but of course things get complicated, and that’s how we ended up here,” he said.

He expects to be squeezed further with the likelihood that rent is going to go up in his rent-stabilized building, located on 161st Street in Jamaica, following a Rent Guidelines Board vote Wednesday night.

The board sets the maximum rent-stabilized landlords can raise rents each year.

“It’s not just rent. It’s also food and everything else that’s gone up with inflation," he said. "It’s a month-to-month thing."

To make matters worse, he said his apartment is in great disrepair. There is a broken toilet and crumbling bathroom tiles, dangerous electric sockets, leaky ceilings and mold in the kitchen.

Manuel plans to join a tenant lawsuit against his landlord for unsafe conditions, even as his family faces the possibility of paying more for rent.

“There are a total of 30 violations that [the Department of Housing Preservation and Development] issued against the landlord of this particular building,” Sharman Piancca, an attorney with Queens Legal Services, said.

No matter the conditions in Manuel’s building or elsewhere throughout the city, landlords of rent-stabilized buildings can demand higher rents on leases signed after September because the Rent Guidelines Board approved a 3% hike on one-year leases and a 2.75% and then 3.2% hike over two-year leases.

However, it’s hard to find a landlord who is happy with it. Many feel the hike isn’t enough.

“We are faced with spiking energy costs, property taxes and skyrocketing insurance premiums, and what was voted on last evening is not sufficient,” said Michael Tobman, the membership and communications director with the Rent Stabilization Association.

The organization advocates for small residential building owners. Tobman said his members are doing their best to upkeep their buildings. Despite that, he said many members are struggling financially.

“Rent is income for buildings, and any amount less than what is necessary to keep up with escalating costs is something RSA’s diverse membership simply cannot be excited about,” he said.

With this latest rent increase, similar to years past, no side is declaring victory.

“It’s not fair to be living in these conditions and get a rent increase,” Manuel said. The Rent Stabilization Association does not speak for Manuel’s landlord.

A spokesman for the 70-unit building owner said nearly all the violations have been remedied, adding that the city plans to inspect the repairs by the end of the month.

The Rent Guidelines Board rent hikes will only impact leases signed after September.