New York City approves first-ever rent freeze on two-year leases

New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board approved a rent freeze for about 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, delivering the first-ever freeze on two-year leases in the board’s history and locking in immediate relief for tenants while sharpening the debate over building finances, maintenance and housing supply. The 7-1 vote on June 25 came at El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem, where hundreds of tenants and housing advocates filled the room as the board handed Zohran Mamdani a major early win on his signature affordability pledge.

Mamdani, sworn in as mayor on January 1, 2026, has made the rent freeze a centerpiece of his administration. After announcing six new RGB appointees on February 18, including chair Chantella Mitchell, his team spent the spring mobilizing testimony before the board’s June vote. The administration also backed Organize NYC efforts to bring tenants and landlords into the hearing process, underscoring how central the rent decision had become to City Hall’s broader housing agenda.

The freeze covers leases for roughly 1 million stabilized units, a subset of the about 2.4 million New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized apartments across the five boroughs. The board’s May 7 preliminary vote had already pointed toward a freeze, with proposed ranges of 0% to 2% for one-year leases and 0% to 4% for two-year leases. By making the final move, the board went further than any prior rent-setting cycle and for the first time froze both one-year and two-year leases.

The decision also marks a break from recent years under Eric Adams, when the board raised rents every year, including for leases beginning October 1, 2025 and running through September 30, 2026. Before this vote, the board had frozen one-year rents only three times, all under Bill de Blasio in 2015, 2016 and 2020. The RGB is a nine-member panel of mayoral appointees required to weigh operating costs, housing supply, vacancy rates, cost of living and public testimony, and landlord advocates have warned that a freeze could deepen pressure on owners already facing higher expenses. Christina Smyth, the owner representative, resigned hours before the final vote, adding to the political strain around a board now seen as newly aligned with Mamdani’s housing agenda.