The New York City Rent Guidelines Board voted Thursday night to freeze rents for rent-stabilized apartments for both one and two-year leases, delivering on Mayor Mamdani’s central housing promise hours after an owner representative resigned and accused the board of steering toward a predetermined outcome.
The board adopted a proposal setting rent adjustments at 0% for one-year leases and 0% for two-year leases beginning Oct. 1, 2026, and running through Sept. 30, 2027. It is the first time that the board has frozen the rents on two-year leases. More than 1 million rent-stabilized apartments are affected.
Owner representative Maksim Wynn prefaced his vote with a long speech, which was drowned out by attendees’ booing and jeering. But eventually, Wynn agreed that a freeze was also in the owners’ best interest.
The surprise vote was met with a chorus of cheers from the crowd, who waved signs reading “freeze the rent” and “rent rollback.” The vote tallied 7-1 in favor of the freeze, with the lone vote against coming from Arpit Gupta, a public representative reappointed from former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
The vote came after board Chair Chantella Mitchell conducted a roll call and noted the board had a quorum despite the absence of Christina Smyth, an owner representative who resigned in protest earlier Thursday. Smyth’s resignation left the board with one owner representative for the final vote.
The board also approved the hotel order, setting 0% increases for covered hotel categories.
The vote marked a major victory for Mamdani, who made a rent freeze for the city’s rent-stabilized tenants a centerpiece of his mayoral campaign.
Reacting to the rent freeze, Mamdani called it a “historic victory for New York City tenants.”
“After reviewing the data and hearing from New Yorkers across the city, the independent RGB has delivered a freeze on one-year leases, and the first-ever freeze on two- year leases in our city’s history,” Mamdani said. “This is the relief that working people across our city deserve.”
“I’m grateful for the board members’ thoughtful consideration of the data, including tenants’ ability to pay, cost of living and building operating costs,” he added, referencing Symth’s earlier accusations.
Property owner groups, however, decried the decision, charging that a rent freeze would make it increasingly difficult for homeowners to make necessary improvements and keep the housing stock viable.
“The Rent Guidelines Board ignored its own data and made a terrible decision tonight,” said James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York. “Older rent-stabilized buildings are already struggling under rising operating costs, yet the Board chose to disregard those realities. This decision will mean less investment in maintenance and repairs, accelerating the deterioration of the housing stock that millions of New Yorkers call home. Tonight’s vote may be politically popular, but it will make New York’s housing crisis worse.”
This is a breaking story and will be updated as news develops
By Adam Daly and Sadie Brown
Source link