The Rent Guidelines Board cast a preliminary vote Thursday night to raise rates for the city’s approximately 1 million rent-stabilized apartments.

The board voted 0% to 2% increase on one-year leases and 0% to 4% increase on two-year leases signed on or after Oct. 1.

A majority of the board — six of nine members — were appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who made freezing the rent a cornerstone promise of his campaign. About 2.4 million New Yorkers live in rent-stabilized units.

What You Need To Know

  • The Rent Guidelines Board cast a preliminary vote Thursday night to raise rates for the city’s approximately 1 million rent-stabilized apartments

  • A majority of the board — six of nine members — were appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who made freezing the rent a cornerstone promise of his campaign

  • About 2.4 million New Yorkers live in rent-stabilized units
  • With the preliminary vote cast, the board will hold a series of public hearings across the five boroughs before making a final decision on June 25

It was a win for some tenant organizers.

“I am elated with the preliminary vote. For the first time in history, we have an option or a chance to get a zero rent freeze on two-year leases. That has never happened before,” Joanne Grell, a rent-stabilized tenant, said.

“I’m feeling pretty good, I think. The rent freeze [is] still on the table for one- and two-year leases,” Elisa Martinez, a rent-stabilized tenant, said.

Some landlords told NY1 that they believe the RGB is caving to political pressure.

“If you tip the scale and you pick these people, it’s like a baseball team, baby, right? You pick your players to win the game or lose the game,” Humberto Lopes, a landlord, said.

Some landlords say that a rent increase of about 5% is needed,expressing ongoing complaints about the increasing costs of owning and maintaining property in the city.

“We can’t support the properties and continue to upkeep them with those rates. The cost-of-living is so much higher. We’re not immune to the economy. Everything is going up: taxes, water and sewer, insurance,” Valentina Gojcaj, a board member for Small Property Owners of New York, said.

Meanwhile, Mamdani supporters say they are going to continue organizing until their demand for a rent freeze becomes a reality.

“Today, we really showed when we come together as a bloc to work together and do things, like elect a mayor, then have that mayor appoint Rent Guidelines Board that we really could get things we’re out here fighting for,” Martinez said.

“The zero percent on the table doesn’t mean we won it,” Grell said.

In the last 10 years, the RGB has never come in at the top of the range.

Many tenants rallied outside the preliminary vote in Long Island City, Queens, to demand rents for their one- and two-year leases remain steady.

Tenant advocate groups support a rent freeze, saying housing costs are already unaffordable for many New Yorkers. Landlords, however, say rent increases are necessary to keep up with the rising cost of insurance and fuel.

In a statement, Mamdani said New Yorkers “need real relief.”

“New Yorkers are being crushed by the cost-of-living, and they need real relief. I’m encouraged to see the Board taking seriously the data around affordability, operating expenses, and the pressures facing both tenants and small property owners as it sets this preliminary range,” the mayor wrote.

Last summer, the board voted to approve rent hikes of 3% for one-year leases and 4.5% for two-year leases.

With the preliminary vote cast, the board will hold a series of public hearings across the five boroughs before making a final decision on June 25.