Mamdani’s Rent Freeze Would Sink New York Landlords

‘It would make me lose my building. It would destroy me,’ says Sharon Cohen, an owner in the Bronx.

By Howard Husock. Mr. Husock is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of “The Projects: A New History of Public Housing,” out next month. Excerpts:

"Under New York’s rent-stabilization regime, a board appointed by the mayor sets rent levels—and must approve any increase—for 960,000 rent-stabilized apartments, nearly a third of all the city’s housing units. In 2017 and 2018, under Mayor Bill de Blasio, the board granted no increase for one-year leases—in other words, a rent freeze. This year, under Eric Adams, the board granted a 3% increase for a one-year lease, and 4.5% for two years. That came after New York University’s Mark Willis testified that owners of rent-stabilized properties in the Bronx are, on average, losing $120 a month on every apartment."

"he could stack the Rent Guidelines Board with appointees willing to implement his freeze."

"Post-Covid, city tenant-protection laws limit any concern of eviction."

"it takes two years to evict a tenant of a rent-stabilized apartment in the Bronx for nonpayment of rent. For an eviction to be approved, landlords must first correct any housing violation—even if they aren’t getting the rental income they need to pay for such repairs. What’s more, nonpaying tenants can apply to the city for “one-shot deals”—an emergency rent-assistance payment to cover large amounts owed. Payments may not cover the full amount, says Ann Korchak of the Small Property Owners Organization of New York, and they come with a one-year no-eviction clause." 

"A great deal of the city’s housing stock is price-controlled, including the rent-stabilized stock and an additional 177,000 public housing units. Still more is income-restricted—including 50 city and federally-subsidized developments with “affordable units” set aside for those with 60%, 80%, or even 120% of median income. All this creates incentives for tenants to stay put in their apartments—even if they no longer need as large a place as they once did. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 30% of New York City Housing Authority tenants are “over-housed,” meaning they have empty bedrooms. Low turnover in regulated units drives up prices on market-rate units. New York’s renter turnover rate since 2021 is 19% lower than the national average. That’s one reason rents for available units keep rising even as the city has been losing population."