The NYC Rent Guidelines Board approved Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rent freeze for one million apartments. The rent freeze affects 1 and 2-year leases.
The rent freeze, which Mamdani campaigned on, will take effect on October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. The board’s decision is the first time that a 2-year rent freeze has ever been approved in New York City.
In February, Mamdani appointed six of the board members to ensure his measure would pass.
In 2025, the mayor-elect pledged to freeze rent for the city’s 1 million rent-stabilized apartments. The apartments make up 27% of housing across New York City’s five boroughs.
Mamdani once lived in a rent-stabilized apartment in Queens with his wife, Rama Duwaji, before moving to the mayor’s mansion this year. Although he broke many promises after the election, he delivered on rent freeze.
About 2 million people live in rent-stabilized housing in NYC. Residents include immigrants, people of color and the poor. The regulation stops landlords from raising the rent after a lease expires.
City residents thanked Mamdani on the street, but he does have critics.
In a statement posted to LinkedIn, board member Christina Smyth, who was appointed by former Mayor Eric Adams, said the board’s 2026 rent stabilization order “was decided last year on the campaign trail”.
“Everything since has been theater,” Smyth added.