Rent Freeze Could Hit 1 Million NYC Apartments

NEW YORK, NY— A proposed rent freeze for regulated apartments set off a fight between tenant advocates and small property owners ahead of June hearings.

New York City’s rent board moved closer to a possible freeze for roughly 1 million regulated apartments Thursday, opening a debate that could reshape housing costs for more than 2 million tenants across the five boroughs.

The Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-1, with one abstention, to consider a range of no increase to 2 percent on one-year leases and no increase to 4 percent on two-year leases. The board will hold public hearings before a final binding vote June 25.

The preliminary ranges marked one of the rare times the board considered freezing rents on one-year leases and the first time it considered a freeze on two-year leases.

The move aligned with a central campaign pledge from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who called the board’s action a response to mounting financial pressure on tenants and property owners alike.

“New Yorkers are being crushed by the cost of living, and they need real relief,” Mamdani said. “I’m encouraged to see the Board taking seriously the data around affordability, operating expenses, and the pressures facing both tenants and small property owners as it sets this preliminary range.”

Tenant representatives on the nine-member board pushed for steeper action.

They proposed reducing rents by 3 percent on new one-year leases and 4.5 percent on two-year leases, a rollback that would effectively erase last year’s increase.

Landlord representatives sought increases between 3 percent and 5.5 percent for one-year leases and between 6 percent and 8 percent for two-year leases.

The debate sharpened after tenant advocates pointed to rising housing costs and eviction filings across the city.

The Legal Aid Society praised the inclusion of a rent freeze among the board’s options but warned against any increase.

“Amid a historic affordability crisis and growing economic uncertainty, we commend the Board for including an outright rent freeze among the proposed rent adjustment options for rent-stabilized apartments, lofts, and hotels,” the organization wrote in a statement.

The group cited board reports showing landlords of rent-stabilized buildings continued to post steady or increasing profits. It also pointed to data showing the inflation-adjusted market value of buildings made up entirely of rent-stabilized units climbed 20.4 percent citywide.

“Meanwhile, rent-stabilized tenants are contending with rising unemployment and a citywide eviction rate that increased by nearly 10 percent from the previous year,” the statement read. “Any rent increase disregards these realities and would serve only to benefit landlords at the expense of working-class and low-income tenants.”

Property owners warned the proposal threatened already strained building finances.

Ann Korchak, president of the Small Property Owners of New York, called the board’s vote “reckless and irresponsible” and accused members of abandoning their mandate to protect the long-term viability of rent-stabilized housing.

“The RGB is violating its statutory mandate of objectively analyzing relevant data and basing their rent adjustments on the health, preservation and viability of rent-stabilized housing,” Korchak said.

She said smaller landlords faced mounting costs tied to taxes, insurance, utilities and repairs while rent increases remained capped.

“The RGB’s own data is distorted because it lumps older, financially distressed, majority-rent-stabilized buildings with profitable core-Manhattan and newer buildings that are majority-free-rent or have only one or two rent-stabilized apartments,” Korchak said.

She urged the board to create separate rent orders for buildings constructed before 1973, warning older properties could fall deeper into financial distress without additional revenue.

The board’s final vote is scheduled for June 25 after a series of public hearings across the city.