A critical vote held Thursday evening is set to impact more than 2.5 million New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized apartments across the five boroughs.
Many of those tenants had been looking for the Rent Guidelines Board to preliminarily approve a rent freeze — and for the first time since Bill de Blasio was in office, they might just get it.
In the preliminary vote, the board approved rent increases of 0-2% for one-year leases and 0-4% for two-year leases for the city’s one million rent-stabilized units.
This year, almost all nine members of the board have been appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has made fair housing a corner stone of his office. Because the approved range includes zero percent, there’s a good chance a rent freeze could be the outcome at the final hearing in late June, which follows a series of public hearings.
While it stands to be good news for tenants at a time when many are struggling to pay their bills, landlords were anxious about Thursday’s hearing, saying a rent freeze would badly hamper their ability to make essential repairs to buildings.
“The fiscal reality is that these buildings are old and are in need of a lot of work and capital repairs and revenue which is rent is how we take care of those building needs,” said Ann Korchak, the board president of the Small Property Owners of New York.
A landlord at Thursday’s vote said by not increasing the rent, it hurts their ability to keep up with maintenance.
“They’re defunding properties we can’t keep up with the expenses. We can’t keep up with the repairs we can’t give good services to our tenants if they keep doing this to us,” said Valentina Gojcaj. “We’re in the same economy as everyone else is…We want to give good housing but we can’t if we don’t have the money to do it.”
In 2025, the Rent Guidelines Board approved a 3% increase on one-year leases and 4.5% on two-year leases. Landlords had hoped for another uptick, but Korchak said that by including zero percent in the range, it all-but-ensures there will be a rent freeze.
Mayor Mamdani, who campaigned on freezing the rent, said he was “encouraged” by the board’s decision.
“New Yorkers are being crushed by the cost of living, and they need real relief. 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,” the mayor said in a statement. “As the RGB begins its public hearings, tenants, owners, and New Yorkers from every borough should make their voices heard and speak directly to what this housing crisis looks like in their lives. I’m confident the Board will weigh those perspectives carefully and arrive at a decision later this summer that reflects the urgency of this moment.”
There has not been a rent freeze since 2020. Some in the crowd Thursday said it’s not just a rent freeze that’s needed, it’s a rent reduction. Others wanted no chance of an increase on the table.
“I’m not very happy about it. I think a rent freeze in this time in this economy in this atmosphere is what hard working people need and deserve,” said tenant Desmond Cadogan.
