Toward a Rent Freeze for New York City

Abstract

This working paper makes the case for a rent freeze as an immediate, high-impact affordability measure in New York City, where rising rents are driving a growing share of renters to spend more than half their income on housing. Building on long-standing tenant movement demands and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 campaign platform, it argues that a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments can stabilize housing for roughly one million households while returning billions of dollars to renters and the city economy over the next four years. The paper responds directly to landlord and real estate industry opposition by testing their claims against available evidence. It separates myths from realities, showing that the central threats to affordability are not tenant protections but speculation, landlord abuse, and property mismanagement. Finally, it frames the rent freeze as a consequential first step in a broader housing agenda aimed at securing permanent, dignified, and affordable homes for current and future New Yorkers.