Can Zohran Mamdani Really Freeze the Rent?

"He's said it over and over again on the campaign trail, a consistent drumbeat of a promise: If elected, Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani will freeze your rent. "I'm running for mayor to freeze the rent for every rent-stabilized tenant," he said in a campaign ad unveiled in late May. "Wait, you're going to freeze my rent?" asks an actor playing a tenant. Mamdani comes back on screen: "Yes.""

"But does the mayor of New York City actually have the power to stop rent increases in one of the most expensive cities in the world? Not directly. But they definitely have the power to appoint people who could make it happen - and Mamdani wouldn't be the first New York City mayor to oversee a rent freeze. Here's what you need to know about the process:"

"Keep in mind: Rent-stabilized apartments should not be confused with rent-controlled apartments. Stabilized units are nearly as plentiful as market-rate units, while rent-controlled apartments - with shockingly low prices, sometimes in the city's toniest neighborhoods - are vanishingly rare. There are only 24,020 rent-controlled units left as of 2023, which accounts for just 1 percent of all rental apartments, and that number is shrinking with each passing year."

Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani pledged to freeze rents for rent-stabilized tenants if elected mayor. A mayor cannot unilaterally stop rent increases but can appoint officials and shape agencies that could implement a stabilization freeze. The proposed freeze would apply only to rent-stabilized units, not market-rate apartments. New York City contains about 996,600 rent-stabilized apartments, comprising over 40 percent of rental units, while rent-controlled units number just 24,020, about 1 percent. Any effective rent freeze would require coordination among city agencies and regulatory bodies empowered to set or enforce rent rules.

Read at Brownstoner