A group of New York landlords has sued to overturn the city’s decision to freeze prices on around 1 million rent-stabilized apartments for up to two years. The landlords called the process “rigged.” The lawsuit, filed July 22 in state Supreme Court, accuses the Rent Guidelines Board of running what it describes as a sham with a predetermined outcome to satisfy Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign promise.
On June 25, the board set rent increases at 0 percent for both one-year and two-year renewal leases starting on October 1, the first time it had approved a freeze covering those types of leases. Mamdani, who made freezing the rent a central part of his campaign, celebrated the vote when he took office. Now, the landlords are arguing that the board abandoned its independence.
The complaint alleges Mamdani packed the panel with loyalists after taking office and spent city funds mobilizing tenant advocates to fill its hearings. It now seeks communications between the board and City Hall. The landlords want access to prior increases, 3 percent totals for one-year leases, and 4.5 percent totals for two-year leases all kept in place while the board reconsiders.
The city says it will defend the freeze, however. Mamdani’s office said it’s confident the board evaluated all relevant data and that city lawyers are prepared to fight. A judge has ordered the city to present its defense in September, which is fast approaching.
What the Rent Guidelines Board Is and How It Works
Landlords sue to reverse rent freeze on 1 million apartments https://t.co/8bpo7SQmGF
— POLITICO (@politico) July 22, 2026
The board is a nine-member panel appointed by the mayor that sets the maximum annual rent increases for the city’s roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments. Each year it reviews data on landlords’ operating costs, tenant incomes, and building conditions before voting. State law requires the board to use specified economic factors when making decisions, but doesn’t use a formula to calculate rent increases automatically.
Research found that net operating income rose 6.2 percent among buildings with at least one rent-stabilized apartment. At the same time, landlords argue that figure was inflated by properties with market-rate units and other income, pointing instead to a 2.4 percent increase among fully stabilized buildings. The complaint also cites a former landlord representative’s resignation letter, which said the panel had become a body that starts with an answer and works backward to justify it.
Why This Fight Echoes Past Rent-Freeze Battles
Under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, the board previously froze one-year lease rents three times and beat a similar lawsuit. In fact, that’s part of what those filing the suit are using as research and precedent-setting for the case. The two-year freeze is new, as is the direct focus on the mayor’s campaign promise, which the landlords can use as part of their argument.
A ruling for the landlords could unwind the 0 percent increases and potentially reshape how the board weighs data in future years, while a ruling for the city would reaffirm its discretion to set increases, including freezes. The case lands as landlords argue frozen rents leave them unable to cover rising taxes, insurance, and maintenance, and tenant groups argue the units are an essential and shrinking source of affordable housing. The September hearing will be the first test of which argument the court finds most persuasive.