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He’s said it over and over again on the campaign trail, a consistent drumbeat of a promise: If elected, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani will freeze your rent.
“I’m running for mayor to freeze the rent for every rent-stabilized tenant,” he said in a campaign ad unveiled in late May. “Wait, you’re going to freeze my rent?” asks an actor playing a tenant. Mamdani comes back on screen: “Yes.”
But does the mayor of New York City actually have the power to stop rent increases in one of the most expensive cities in the world?
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Not directly. But they definitely have the power to appoint people who could make it happen — and Mamdani wouldn’t be the first New York City mayor to oversee a rent freeze. Here’s what you need to know about the process:
Would Mamdani’s rent freeze apply to every renter — even me?
No. As the candidate has repeatedly said, a future rent freeze would apply only to apartments with rent-stabilized leases, not so-called “market rate” apartments with unregulated rent prices.
Still, his promise would cover a lot of people. There are 996,600 rent-stabilized apartments in New York City according to the 2023 Housing and Vacancy Survey, a once-every-three-years census of the city’s housing stock. They account for more than 4 in 10 of all rental apartments in the five boroughs.
Keep in mind: Rent-stabilized apartments should not be confused with rent-controlled apartments. Stabilized units are nearly as plentiful as market-rate units, while rent-controlled apartments — with shockingly low prices, sometimes in the city’s toniest neighborhoods — are vanishingly rare. There are only 24,020 of rent-controlled units left as of 2023, which accounts for just 1% of all rental apartments, and that number is shrinking with each passing year.
How could Mayor Mamdani freeze the rent?
On his own, he can’t.
To do it, he needs help from the nine people who set rent levels for those nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments: the Rent Guidelines Board.
The RGB dates back to the days of Mayor John Lindsay when it came into being to independently evaluate rent regulation. Every single member is appointed by the mayor.
But an incoming mayor — like Mamdani may be in January 2026 — cannot sweep the board and replace all nine members right away. The board members have staggered terms.
Crucially, one current appointee of Mayor Eric Adams has a term that lasts through 2026 and, if he loses in November, Adams will still have the power to make new appointments for four of the current board spots before he leaves office.
If he does that, those members will remain in place through the end of 2026 — giving Adams’ appointees influence over stabilized rent levels beyond 2025..
Will Mayor Adams take that step? We don’t know, and his office did not reply to THE CITY when asked.
Has New York ever had a rent freeze before?
Yes, under Mayor Bill de Blasio the Rent Guidelines Board voted for a rent freeze in three of the eight years he was in office, in 2015, 2016 and 2020.
Like Mamdani, de Blasio campaigned on a rent freeze promise. But because of holdover Rent Guidelines Board members appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, de Blasio didn’t get his wished-for freeze until his second year in office.
Those three rent freezes have contributed to stabilized rent prices increasing at a slower rate than the overall cost of living. As THE CITY previously reported, rents for stabilized apartments in the past decade have increased slightly less than 12% while the New York area Consumer Price Index rose more than 27% in the same period.
Landlords and some housing experts say that spells major financial trouble, especially older rent-stabilized buildings in The Bronx.
On the other hand, tenants are under enormous pressure and need relief, said Leah Goodridge, a current member of the City Planning Commission and a former member of the Rent Guidelines Board appointed by de Blasio. She voted for a rent freeze then and supports another freeze under the next mayor.
“I’ve talked to thousands of tenants over the course of 12 years representing them in Housing Court, and almost all of these cases were because the rent was too high,” she said. “We have a huge homelessness population because of it.”
So, when could we see a rent freeze for stabilized apartments?
There are two scenarios to consider here:
First, if Mamdani wins and if Adams decides not to make new appointments to the board, the new mayor could replace the majority of the RGB right away in 2026.
That would mean Mamdani’s appointees — who would almost certainly align with his vision and would vote for a rent freeze — could make that happen in next year’s rent level vote.
That freeze would be in effect from Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027, meaning price would stay the same on all rent-stabilized leases for that period.
Alternatively, if Mamdani wins and Adams decides to make new appointments to the board on his way out, a rent freeze would be delayed.
Adams appointees would have control of the board through 2026 and would likely not vote for a rent freeze. In all the years of the Adams administration, the RGB has voted for rent price increases for stabilized units. Most recently, the board voted for rent increases of up to 3% for one-year leases and 4.5% for two-year leases beginning Oct. 1.
If that happens, a vote for a rent freeze wouldn’t happen at the earliest until 2027, affecting leases between Oct. 1 2027 and Sept. 30 2028.
What have the other candidates said about a rent freeze?
No other mayoral candidate for the November election supports a rent freeze the way Mamdani does.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he will appoint RGB members who take into account landlords’ rising costs including maintenance, insurance, taxes and utilities. Adams has already demonstrated through his board appointments that he does not support a blanket rent freeze.
Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa told THE CITY through our Meet Your Mayor survey that he would support a rent freeze if economic analysis determines it’s feasible.
Independent candidate Jim Walden does not support a rent freeze. He has said he wants to “scrap” the board completely — something only the state legislature could do — and give more subsidies to landlords.
Am I rent stabilized? How can I check?
Many apartments or buildings in New York may have rent-regulated status that tenants may not be aware of — including newer buildings with certain tax breaks, or older buildings with newer tenants.
Watchdogs and journalists have blown the whistle on those instances many times, including in this 2015 ProPublica series and in THE CITY’s previous reporting.
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