Can NYC mayor freeze rents like Zohran Mamdani wants? Not exactly, but they have ‘biggest impact'

New York Post

2 days ago

Freezing the rent requires a big squeeze.
Socialist Zohran Mamdani's promise of freezing rents in New York City if elected mayor hinges on his appointments to a powerful board that could easily buck his wishes — just ask Eric Adams.
The nine-person Rent Guidelines Board — all of whom were handpicked by the mayor — voted Monday to hike rents for rent-stabilized home by at least 3%, bucking Hizzoner's election-year wish for lower increases.
Advertisement
3 Socialist mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani has focused on affordability in his campaign.
Michael Nigro
Mamdani, whose tenant-pleasing call to freeze those rents helped catapult him to a stunning and record-breaking Democratic mayoral primary victory, quickly blasted his main general election rival Adams for the hike.
'In his final year as Mayor,' he tweeted snarkily, 'Eric Adams and his hand-picked Rent Guidelines Board delivered one last blow to struggling rent-stabilized tenants.
Advertisement
'New Yorkers are desperate for city government that lowers costs instead of raising rents. Change is coming.'
3 'Freeze the Rent' is a plank of Mamdani's campaign.
Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
But many cash-strapped tenants hoping for a reprieve may be disappointed in Mamdani's 'freeze the rent' pledge, as it would only apply to rent-stabilized homes — which account for roughly 1 million out of 3.7 million total housing units in the Big Apple.
When Mamdani announced his then-longshot mayoral bid in October, he put out a video mentioning his rent freeze would be for rent-stabilized tenants — but has largely avoided making that distinction since, a Post review found.
Advertisement
'It may not be clear to everyone that he is only speaking about rent-stabilized apartment, younger voters may not realize that,' said Ann Korchak, board president for the Small Property Owners of New York.
The mayor appoints all members of the Rent Guidelines Board, which sets potential increases for rent-stabilized homes.
The board is required to find a balance between affordability for renters and the needs of landlords, said Mark Willis, a senior policy fellow at NYU's Furman Center.
Rent freezes aren't unheard of in recent years.
Advertisement
Board members froze the rent three times under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio — and only increased it 6.75% overall on one-year leases during his entire mayoralty.
De Blasio said he appointed board members to shift a pro-landlord balance that existed under his predecessor, Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
He said the appointees exercise their own judgment, but the mayor has the 'biggest impact' on the board's direction.
'I felt there needed to be a rebalancing of the board… There was no focus on tenants' expenses,' de Blasio told The Post on Tuesday.
'We said to the appointees, 'Look at the whole picture.''
Mamdani's campaign platform also vaguely calls to provide 'better, faster and easier access' to city-backed loans for repairs, and to fast-track 100% affordable developments and build 200,000 new units over the next decade.
But freezing rents on stabilized units could come with disastrous consequences, experts warned.
Rent-stabilized landlords have raised alarms about the rising costs and thin margins of maintaining homes — a key factor that the board has considered as it increased rents on one-year leases more than 9% over Adams' term, records show.
Advertisement
3 Many experts warn a rent freeze, even if only applied to rent-stabilized homes, could have disastrous consequences.
Michael Nigro
A freeze for rent-stabilized apartments could make prices rise for market-rate units, especially in buildings with a mix of both, Willis said.
'There'll be more attention that will have to be focused on the revenue from the market rate units in order to have enough money to pay to properly maintain the property,' he said.
Korchak warned that landlords not be able to pay for repairs may end up charging more in rent for small businesses and other apartment tenants.
Advertisement
'It's a ripple effect, the small business tenant paying more or the free market tenants paying more,' she said.
'If (Mamdani) comes out to bat for four years, you just put the nail in the coffin of all these distressed buildings.'