Overview
- The Rent Guidelines Board voted 7–1 on Thursday, June 25, 2026 to set a 0% increase for both one- and two-year rent‑stabilized leases covering about 1 million apartments, with the order taking effect for leases starting Oct. 1, 2026 and running through Sept. 30, 2027.
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani framed the outcome as a fulfillment of his central campaign promise and thanked the board for weighing tenant ability to pay and building operating costs in its decision.
- The vote followed the surprise resignation that morning of landlord representative Christina Smyth, who said the panel had been rebuilt to deliver a freeze; her departure has fueled landlord claims the board’s independence was compromised.
- Owner groups and real estate trade associations immediately criticized the freeze, warned it will strain building maintenance amid rising insurance and energy costs, and signaled likely legal challenges to the RGB’s order.
- City Hall has already proposed complementary steps to ease owner-side costs—notably a city-backed insurance initiative slated for 2027—and the coming weeks will test whether policy relief or court rulings reshape how the freeze is implemented.