The Rent Guidelines Committee in the city won’t finalize any decisions regarding this year’s rent hikes for regulated apartments until June. Yet, officials are already compiling data to support Mayor Zoran Mamdani’s proposed rent freeze.
Recent findings from the 2026 Revenue and Expenditure Survey show that landlords managing rent-stabilized units saw a 6.2% increase in net operating income. Tenant advocates argue this should support a rent freeze.
However, take a moment to consider this. That 6.2% figure doesn’t really reflect the full picture of a landlord’s financial situation.
When you factor in inflation, that percentage drops slightly to about 2.2%.
And remember, this is just a year-over-year comparison—essentially, it’s income from a building after subtracting taxes, utilities, maintenance, and other expenses.
There’s a catch: If a landlord has a loss one year but then sees a slight increase the next, it can appear as an “increase” in income, even if they’re still operating at a loss.
On top of that, these numbers represent an aggregate across all buildings. Many have at least one rent-stabilized unit, which can distort the overall figures, especially when considering market-rate units that are experiencing rising rents.
For properties where at least half of the units are rent-stabilized, the increase in net operating income is only 4%. In buildings that are fully rent-stabilized, it’s merely 2.4%.
Furthermore, the data doesn’t differentiate between newly built structures and older ones requiring significant renovations.
This distinction is crucial because the reported net operating income doesn’t consider expenses tied to capital improvements or debt servicing.
The citywide figures further muddy the waters, mixing a 10% growth rate for buildings in central Manhattan with just 0.9% for the rest of the city.
Interestingly, net income in the Bronx actually dropped by about 0.1%.
This paints a clearer picture: Many residential buildings are genuinely struggling financially. A rent freeze alongside minimal increases under former Mayor Bill de Blasio—averaging under 1%—and insufficient hikes under Mayor Eric Adams have contributed to this.
Particularly, buildings constructed prior to 1974 are often in disrepair and facing hefty repair bills.
Additionally, the city’s Local Law 97 addressing climate change mandates expensive upgrades to meet emission standards.
Yet, in a less-than-brilliant move, lawmakers in Albany have made it challenging for landlords to pass the costs of these upgrades onto tenants.
As a result, many landlords are left with “zombie” apartments—units that are technically in the system but remain unrented because bringing them up to code is financially unfeasible.
Ultimately, the Rent Guidelines Committee—composed mostly of Mamdani’s appointees—doesn’t seem overly concerned with the real data at hand.
It’s anticipated that Mr. Mamdani, holding socialist views, will push through his endorsed rent freeze.
If that occurs, we might see further degradation in many apartments and a risk of buildings collapsing— tenants would undoubtedly bear the brunt of these decisions.
