The law affecting rents paid by 2 million New York City tenants was poised to expire Monday as state lawmakers struggled to reach an agreement on the extension of the law before the midnight deadline.

As talks between legislative leaders and Gov. Andrew Cuomo dragged on, tenants, Mayor Bill de Blasio and many rank-and-file lawmakers slammed the slow pace as the latest example of dysfunction in Albany.

“Do your jobs! You’re playing with people’s lives,” said Esteban Giron, one of several New York City tenants who gathered outside Cuomo’s Capitol office. The 36-year-old social media consultant said rent regulations have prevented his rent from going up by hundreds of dollars each month.

The rent regulations cover some 1 million rent-controlled and rent-stabilized units in and around New York City. The longstanding rules — which must be renewed in Albany periodically — dictate rent increases and eviction policies and are seen as a key protection for affordable housing in the nation’s largest city.

The immediate impact of a lapse in the rules would likely be minor. Landlords of rent-regulated units must give notice to tenants about rent increases or evictions, and Cuomo vowed to go after landlords who exploit the law’s expiration. And whatever deal lawmakers agree to would likely be made retroactive.

Still, the slow pace of the negotiations and the approaching midnight deadline prompted a flurry of phone calls to the office of Sen. Adriano Espaillat. The Manhattan Democrat said the procrastination reflected poorly on the Legislature, which has been in session since January.

“This is also about competence and a functioning democracy,” Espaillat said. “We had six months. We had a couple of years. And we’re here at the 11th hour.”

De Blasio told reporters there had been an uptick in the city’s 311 information line from tenants asking about the expiration. He said the city was prepared to take steps against landlords who tell tenants their leases are no longer in effect because of the law’s expiration.

“The hour of decision has come, and it is time for Albany to act,” he said. “All Albany had to do was recognize that this deadline was coming, years in the making this deadline was coming and by this deadline extend rent regulation and strengthen it.”

The Assembly voted Monday to renew the law for 48 hours so negotiations on a compromise could continue. The Senate and the Assembly remain far apart on a deal. By evening, the Senate had not announced plans to consider the 48-hour extension passed by the Assembly.

The Assembly’s Democratic majority passed a plan in May that would renew the rules for four years, restrict rent increases in vacant apartments and repeal a provision in the current law allowing some apartments to be deregulated when they become vacant.

The Republican-led Senate planned to vote late Monday on its own proposal, which would extend the rules for eight years and institute new income verification rules to ensure those living in rent-regulated apartments are eligible for the benefit.

Senate Leader John Flanagan, R-Long Island, said previously that any extension of the rent rules “must include meaningful and systemic reforms which eliminate the abuses that exist, and create a better path to affordable housing in New York City.”

The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn its 2015 session Wednesday. Lawmakers are also expected to take up bills to address campus sexual assault, a tax credit for private school tuition and the renewal of a lucrative tax break for New York City residents.

(AP)