Mayor-elect’s signature housing promise complicated by predecessor’s final appointments
Implementing Rent Freeze Confronts Structural and Political Obstacles From Previous Administration
Zohran Mamdani’s signature campaign promise to freeze rent on the city’s nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments faces significant practical and political obstacles beginning immediately, starting with the Rent Guidelines Board that must vote to implement the policy. The nine-member body, which sets annual rent increases for stabilized units every year, is entirely appointed by the mayor. However, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams made several final appointments to the board before leaving office, potentially delaying implementation of Mamdani’s rent freeze agenda by a year or more. Board members serve staggered terms ranging from two to four years, meaning Mamdani cannot immediately replace all nine members with appointees who support his agenda.
Timeline for Board Majority Control and Freeze Implementation
According to legal and policy analysis, the earliest that Mamdani could obtain a board majority of his own appointees would be January 1, 2028–two years into his mayoral term. Adams appointed or reappointed four members of the board in the final days of his term, understanding that these appointments would complicate the incoming mayor’s ability to implement his housing agenda immediately. The first opportunity for a rent freeze vote would likely come in the October 2026 decision affecting leases from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. This timeline means thousands of renters will face new rent increases even with a progressive mayor in office.
Adams-Appointed Members Unlikely to Support Freeze
During the four years of Adams’ administration, the Rent Guidelines Board voted for rent increases every single year, with increases as high as 4.5% for two-year leases averaging 3%. Board members appointed by Adams are extremely unlikely to vote for a rent freeze that would provide no increase whatsoever to stabilized rents. This creates a mathematical problem for Mamdani’s agenda: even if he replaces the board chair and appoints new members whose terms begin immediately, he will lack the votes needed to pass a rent freeze in 2026 or 2027.
Economist Consensus: Rent Control Harms Housing Supply and Disincentivizes Maintenance
While Mamdani’s rent freeze proposal has generated enthusiasm among tenant advocates and housing activists, economists across the political spectrum have expressed skepticism about the policy. A 2012 survey of top economists found that only 2% agreed that rent-control laws have “a positive impact” on the supply and quality of affordable housing. Nobel laureate economist Richard Thaler famously quipped that if the question were asked again, it should be: “Does the sun revolve around the Earth?”
Historical Evidence From Other Cities and Long-Term Consequences
Research on rent control regimes in places like Cambridge, Massachusetts revealed significant unintended consequences. When Massachusetts voters repealed Cambridge’s rent control in 1994, property values in Cambridge rose 45%–not only for the previously regulated apartments but for entire neighborhoods. Years of capped rents had discouraged landlord investment and renovation, and property values had stagnated. When controls were finally removed, owners had incentive and motivation to upgrade units, leading to neighborhood revitalization. Similar patterns emerged in other cities with long-term rent control regimes. Learn more about housing policy at Urban Institute and NY Housing and Community Renewal.
New York’s Specific Housing Challenges and Maintenance Crises
New York City faces particular complications in implementing broad rent freezes due to the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act. That law eliminated nearly all mechanisms that previously allowed modest rent increases to fund building maintenance and improvements. Landlords can no longer apply vacancy bonuses, and the ability to recover costs for capital improvements is drastically limited. According to Columbia Business School, the result has been a dramatic increase in deferred maintenance and warehousing of apartments by landlords who cannot afford upkeep. Approximately 26,000 rent-stabilized apartments sit empty, many uninhabitable because renovation costs far exceed what landlords can legally recover through rents.
Impact on Small Property Owners and Building Maintenance
The proposed rent freeze would disproportionately impact small property owners who rely on modest rent increases to pay mortgages, property taxes, maintenance costs, and debt service on their buildings. Many “mom and pop” landlords own single six-unit buildings or small multifamily properties and manage them as their primary source of income or retirement savings. One Brooklyn landlord described in press reports owns a four-unit building while pursuing tenants who collectively owe nearly $100,000 in back rent, creating impossible financial situations.
Tenant Advocate Perspective on Urgency and Affordability Crisis
Tenant advocates contend that rent has become so unaffordable that emergency intervention is necessary. They argue that waiting for new housing construction, which takes years to materialize and is subject to zoning constraints, is not viable for renters struggling today. Tenant advocates estimate that a four-year rent freeze could save renters as much as $6.8 billion, a sum they argue justifies policy concerns about long-term supply effects. Learn more about tenant rights at Coalition for the Homeless.
