NYC Tenant Groups Fight Back Against Landlords Trying to Upend Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Rent Freeze

New York City tenant rights organizations are working together to make sure the rent freeze under Mayor Zohran Mamdani stays in place.

After the Rent Guidelines Board’s vote to freeze the rent on one- and two-year rent-stabilized leases, the Wall Street Journal reported last month that a group of landlords filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the decision.

In response, nonprofit organizations Tenants & Neighbors and the Metropolitan Council on Housing filed a joint motion on Thursday, August 13, to intervene and request an order “dismissing the Verified Petition in its entirety.”

“Landlords are trying to use the courts to overturn a rent freeze they couldn’t stop through the public process,” Met Council executive director Darius Khalil said in a statement to Gothamist on Thursday.

“This freeze was lawful, justified and desperately needed,” Khalil added.

Meanwhile, Randy Mastro — a former deputy mayor representing the landlords — told the outlet that he was reviewing the tenant groups’ filing.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the lawsuit filed by the group of landlords accused the Rent Guidelines Board of going through a “sham process” before voting 7-1 in June to approve the rent freeze.

The lawsuit claims, per WSJ, that the 34-year-old mayor influenced the outcome. However, a spokesperson for the mayor said, “We are confident that the board evaluated all of the relevant data and considered the factors facing both tenants and landlords across New York City.”

While Fox News reported that rents in New York City are increasing, Mamdani celebrated the recent rent freeze by calling it “a historic victory for New York City tenants.”

“After reviewing the data and hearing from New Yorkers across the city, the independent RGB has delivered a freeze on one-year leases, and the first-ever freeze on two-year leases in our city’s history,” he said in a statement. “This is the relief that working people across our city deserve.”

“I’m grateful for the board members’ thoughtful consideration of the data, including tenants’ ability to pay, cost of living and building operating costs,” Mamdani added. “I’ll continue working to deliver a more affordable city by building and preserving affordable housing, lowering building operating costs like insurance, and ensuring tenants know their rights.”