New York City Mayor Eric Adams is taking a final step to block Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s plan to freeze rents in 2026.
Adams, who has long opposed a rent freeze, is appointing two new members and reappointing two current members to the city’s Rent Guidelines Board, according to his office. The appointments take effect Thursday.
Why the Rent Guidelines Board Matters
The Rent Guidelines Board sets the limits on how much landlords can raise rents on more than one million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City.
With Adams’s four appointees joining the board next year, and with another returning member who has publicly opposed a rent freeze, five of the board’s nine members are expected to support rent increases for 2026.
Timing Favors Adams, Not Mamdani
Adams spent months searching for board members before his term ends later this year. All five of his appointees will remain on the board through next year.
Mamdani can appoint new members only at the end of next year, when those terms expire. That would allow him to push for a rent freeze starting in 2027 and continuing for two additional years.
“We are just as committed to a four year rent freeze for the more than two million rent-stabilized tenants,” Mamdani said in a statement. “We will use all the tools at our disposal to deliver it and last minute appointments do not change these facts.”
Removing Board Members Is Difficult
While the mayor has the power to fire rent board members, no mayor has ever done so. Mamdani would need to show cause, and any attempt to remove members could lead to legal challenges.
“I am confident they will serve as responsible stewards of our city’s housing stock, using facts and data to reach the right decision,” Adams said of his appointees.
A Blow to Mamdani’s Campaign Promise
The move is a setback for one of Mamdani’s signature campaign pledges. His promise of a four-year rent freeze helped propel him from a little-known candidate to mayor-elect.
The policy was central to his message on affordability in a city where rents have soared and apartments are scarce.
In November, the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in New York City reached $4,300, the highest in the country, according to Zumper. An April poll by Data for Progress found that 78% of New Yorkers supported a rent freeze.
Landlords Warn of Financial Strain
Owners of rent-stabilized buildings argue that a rent freeze would push many properties into financial trouble.
They say pressure began in 2019, when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law tightening rent regulations. The law limited landlords’ ability to raise rents or convert stabilized units to market-rate apartments.
Costs have continued to rise. Energy and insurance expenses have increased, and many landlords took on heavy debt during the pandemic when interest rates were low. When rates later spiked, those loans became harder to manage.
“It’s been a perfect storm,” said Michael Lefkowitz, a lawyer who works on distressed real estate loans. “It could turn into a tsunami.”
How the Board Makes Its Decisions
The Rent Guidelines Board meets each spring and votes annually on rent limits. It is officially independent, and the mayor does not directly control its votes. Still, mayors usually appoint members who share their views on rent regulation.
The board relies on an annual housing report, but members often disagree on how to interpret the data. Tenant advocates point to rising landlord income, while landlord representatives emphasize growing operating costs.
In July, the board voted 5-4 to allow rent increases of 3% for one-year leases and 4.5% for two-year leases. Adams said at the time that he wanted stricter caps. Since the pandemic, approved increases have generally ranged from 2% to 5%.
Adams’s Appointees
Adams’s expected five-member majority includes two new appointees: Sagar Sharma, a lawyer who works with low-income New Yorkers, and Lliam Finn, a financial adviser at Merrill Lynch.
They will join returning members Arpit Gupta, Christina Smyth, and Alex Armlovich. All three have publicly opposed a rent freeze unless other steps are taken to reduce landlord costs, such as lowering property taxes or insurance expenses.
Sharma and Finn have not spoken publicly against a rent freeze, but they are aligned with Adams’s overall approach to rent policy.
