New York City\u2019s Rent Guidelines Board voted to set a 0% to 2% range for rent increases for roughly one million stabilized apartments, putting Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s pledged freeze within reach.<\/p>\n
The nine-member panel approved the preliminary range for one-year leases Thursday and set a range of 0% to 4% for two-year leases. The initial vote doesn\u2019t set rents. A final decision will be made in June by the board, which will choose one percentage within the range as the limit for rent hikes.<\/p>\n
Mamdani\u2019s focus on rents helped launch the 34-year-old Democratic socialist to City Hall in November amid escalating living costs that tenant advocates say are forcing residents out of the city. Mamdani then reshaped the rent panel, making six new appointments to the board in February, and his government mobilized New Yorkers to testify at hearings ahead of the final vote.<\/p>\n
Read More: Mamdani Stacks NYC Board to Carry Out Promised Rent Freeze<\/a><\/p>\n While the mayor can choose members of the board as their terms come due, it\u2019s an independent body charged with setting rent increases based on extensive analysis and not political considerations. The rent hike threshold set in June will apply to leases signed from October 2026 through September 2027.<\/p>\n Ahead of Thursday\u2019s vote, hundreds of residents gathered outside of the board meeting with shouts of \u201cfreeze the rent.\u201d Some held signs, in multiple languages, with slogans such as \u201cno increases on all leases.\u201d Inside the room, the crowd stood up and jeered as board members voted, with some tenants calling for a rollback, or negative rental adjustments, while others sought assurances that a rent freeze would take place.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to maintain the zero percent,\u201d said Linda Lin, a restaurant worker who lives in Chinatown, speaking through a translator after the vote. \u201cNearly all of my income goes to rent. It has been going up steadily in the past few years.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani said after the vote that he\u2019s \u201cencouraged\u201d to see the board taking seriously the \u201cpressures facing both tenants and small property owners.\u201d<\/p>\n NYC Mayor Eyes Insurance Program for Affordable Housing<\/a><\/p>\n A potential freeze remains highly contentious. Though many tenants are grappling with high rents, landlords and business groups argue that rental income hasn\u2019t kept up with soaring expenses.<\/p>\n Tens of thousands of government-subsidized affordable units are already under distress, with expenses rising faster than the rents the properties charge, according to the New York Housing Conference, a nonprofit housing advocate. The group has warned that while a rent freeze would provide relief to tenants, it could cause landlords to fall behind on their debts.<\/p>\n The Small Property Owners of New York, which represents owners of buildings with fewer rental units, called the rent board \u201creckless and irresponsible.\u201d The Real Estate Board of New York said the board\u2019s preliminary range ignores the \u201cclear financial distress shown in the data\u201d and called a freeze or near-freeze \u201cunjustifiable.\u201d<\/p>\n Under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, the board held one-year leases steady in 2015 and 2016, and again during the pandemic in 2020. Landlords say conditions have since changed: Insurance, taxes and repair costs have surged, and the broader rental market is tighter.<\/p>\n The Rent Guidelines Board sets rents for regulated units only, while market rate apartment leases have surged. Manhattan leases were signed at a median of $4,695 in January, the third highest on record, according to a report<\/a> from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman.<\/p>\n