New York City rental board approves Mamdani rent freeze
by Darryl Coote · UPIJune 26 (UPI) -- New York City's rental board has approved Mayor Zohran Mamdani's two-year rent-freeze proposal for nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, fulfilling a major campaign promise.
New York City's Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-1 to set a 0% increase for rent-stabilized one-year and two-year leases commencing on or after Oct. 1, and on or before Sept. 30, 2027.
Cheers erupted from the spectators assembled as it was announced that the motion passed.
"This is a historic victory for New York City tenants," Mamdani said in a statement following the vote.
"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. This is the relief that working people across our city deserve."
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, campaigned heavily on making life more affordable for the average New Yorker, including by creating new affordable housing and freezing rents where legally permitted.
The mayor said he is grateful for the board members' "thoughtful consideration of the data" before casting their votes.
"I'll continue to deliver a more affordable city by building and preserving affordable housing, lowering building operating costs like insurance, and ensuring tenants know their rights," he said.
According to a New York City housing survey from 2023, there were 996,600 rent-stabilized units, representing about 41% of all rental units across the city. Rent stabilization generally applies to buildings with six or more units built before 1974.
The only vote against the rent freeze came from Arpit Gupta, an associate professor of finance at New York University's Stern School of Business.
In a statement published online following the vote, Gupta argued that the rent freeze will not solve the housing crisis while possibly making it worse and ultimately driving up rents. He also said the rent freeze could prevent building owners from considering improvements and renovations.
"Residents might continue to enjoy low rents but at the cost of being trapped in units that no longer fit their needs, and with few alternatives and steadily deteriorating conditions," he said.
"A better option is to undertake the harder reforms needed to make housing more affordable and accessible -- that is, build more of it."
The vote was held following a series of hearings in which nearly 330 people participated and nearly 700 people submitted written, audio or video testimony about their experiences.
New York State Assembly Member Tony Simone said the rent freeze will impact about 2 million New Yorkers and is expected to save renters as much as $6.8 billion over Mamdani's four-year term.
"This immediate action reflects the urgency needed to prevent more working-class New Yorkers from being priced out of our city," he said in a statement, while stating that the structural factors that are driving up prices must be addressed.
"To truly address the housing crisis, we need to tackle its root cause: the housing shortage," he continued.
"New York needs to build more housing units."