New York City freezes rents for one million regulated apartments

New York City has passed a rent freeze for roughly one million regulated apartments, delivering on a signature campaign promise for Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The 7-1 vote was handed down by the city’s Rent Guidelines Board on Thursday. The decision will freeze rent increases on one- and two-year leases on rent-stabilised apartments. Recommended Stories list of 4 items end of list “This is a historic victory for New York City tenants,” Mamdani said in a statement provided to Al Jazeera. “This is the relief that working people across our city deserve.” Rent-stabilised apartments are in buildings built between 1947 and 1974 with more than six units, or through a tax incentive programme which protects tenants from unpredictable annual rent hikes. It, however, only applies to roughly 41 percent of the city’s rental housing stock. The vote considered issues including taxes, wages and inflation when making the decision. Mamdani had campaigned on freezing the rent when he ran for mayor last year, one of the key issues that catapulted his candidacy into City Hall to lead the most populous city in the United States. The vote itself was a point of contention. Only two days before the vote, Christina Smyth, who was appointed by former Mayor Eric Adams and was one of the two landlord voices on the board, resigned and alleged a lack of independence at the agency. In a letter, Smyth said that the decision to freeze rents was made on the campaign trail. …