Rent Board okays hikes by 3% on one-year stabilized leases and 4.5% for two-year leases

Just a week after the NYC primary, a race largely dictated by the issue of affordable living, the Rent Guidelines Board voted on June 30 to hike one-year leases on stabilized apartments by 3% and two-year leases by 4.5%.

The price hikes go into effect for leases signed starting October 1, 2025.

In a year when rent has become a political flashpoint, the increase seems to be a compromise between the rent freeze that tenant groups sought and the higher range of 7 plus percent that landlords sought on two year leases.

Mayor Eric Adams has been pro-increase since he’s been in office, and each year, his appointed RGB members have approved rent adjustments consistent with the Mayor’s position. This year, the new guidelines passed in a 5-to-4 decision, with votes against the increase coming from landlord representatives who wanted a greater increase and tenant representatives who wanted a freeze.

But even Mr. Adams himself was taken aback by the new guidelines, releasing a statement shortly after the vote, criticizing the extent of the markup.

“I urged the Rent Guidelines Board to adopt the lowest increase possible, as I’ve done in the past. While the board exercised their independent judgment, and made an adjustment based on elements such as inflation, I am disappointed that they approved increases higher than what I called for.”

In a June 17 press conference, Adams referenced how he owns an apartment building in Brooklyn with three rent stabilized units but hasn’t raised the rent in years.

“I’ve never raised their rent. Never raised their rent because as long as I have enough to pay for my mortgage, I don’t have to.”

Meanwhile, Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, who just won the Democratic primary race for mayor, has been vocal about his calls to “freeze the rent.” After the vote, Mr. Mamdani took to X to denounce the rent board’s decision.

“Eric Adams and his hand-picked Rent Guidelines Board delivered one last blow to struggling rent-stabilized tenants. New Yorkers are desperate for city government that lowers costs instead of raising them. Change is coming.”

Much of Mr. Mamdani’s campaign has been centered around making NYC more affordable. One of his most viral TikTok videos featured the assemblyman diving into Coney Island Beach’s freezing water, pledging to only appoint members who understand that landlords are “doing just fine.” And he ran tv ads while early voting kicked off focusing only on his pledge to freeze the rent if elected mayor.

“The board is made up of nine members, and the mayor appoints each one,” he explained in the video. “Currently, eight of Adams’ nine appointees’ terms are up and could be replaced tomorrow. And that’s exactly what I would do.”

His position seemed to resonate with many voters. A poll conducted by Data for Progress on April 15, 2025, which asked likely voters about their stance on affordable rent, found that a large demographic of New Yorkers want a rent freeze. In fact, results suggested that the issue of rent affordability is bipartisan, with 83 percent of Democrats in support of a freeze as well as 63 percent of Republicans.

That is an important constituency in a city with an estimated two million people living in the city’s one million rent stabilized apartments.

But those who are weary of rent freezes, like Mr. Adams and Gov. Cuomo, whose campaign was backed by a $2.5 million donation from NYC landlords, warn about the implications of a rent freeze. In his statement following the RGB vote, Mr. Adams addressed how a freeze could inversely impact deteriorating housing conditions, such as rodent problems, leaks and mold.

“Demands to ‘freeze the rent’ would exacerbate these harmful health and safety issues inside the homes of more than 1 million New Yorkers by depriving owners of the resources needed to make repairs —a cruel and dangerous proposal,” he warned.

His statement echoes that of many landlords who have expressed concern about maintaining their buildings. Ann Korchak, a small property owner in New York, spoke to Eyewitness News about how she feels about the idea of a freeze.

“We’re underfunding and defunding housing once again, which is impacting the quality of housing for everybody that lives in our buildings,” she said.

The RGB meeting, which took place at El Museo del Barrio on 104th St. in Spanish Harlem, was met with a crowd of pro-freeze protesters, many of whom associated with Housing Justice for All, a coalition of groups representing New York tenants. They gathered outside the building and attended the meeting, which was a public forum, with many decked out in orange t-shirts.

Joanne Grell, the Rent Freeze co-chair of Housing Justice for All, led protesters said prior to the meeting: “This is nothing but political payback for real estate mayor Eric Adams. He’s mad we organized,” asserted Grell. “He’s mad we elected Zohran Mamdani. Now his RGB is trying to punish working class tenants. Why? Because we are building something they can’t control–Tenant power.”