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Tenant groups intervene to save Mamdani's rent freeze after landlord challenge
By
David Brand
Published Aug 13, 2026
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Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By
David Brand
Published Aug 13, 2026
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A coalition of prominent tenant advocacy groups is defending New York City's rent freeze by stepping into the high-profile legal fight launched by landlords attempting to topple one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's key campaign pledges.
Two nonprofits, Tenants and Neighbors and the Met Council on Housing, filed a joint motion Thursday to intervene after a group of landlords sued the Rent Guidelines Board last month.
Board members voted 7-1 to approve the city's first-ever two-year rent freeze for stabilized apartments in June.
But a group of limited liability companies that own rent-stabilized apartments asked a Staten Island judge to order a new vote after what the companies called a “sham process with a predetermined outcome” that ignored data on landlord financial troubles in order to fulfill Mamdani's promise to voters to "freeze the rent."
The lawsuit's outcome will affect just how much tenants pay on the next lease they sign starting in October.
Attorneys for the city asked to move the case out of Staten Island and into Manhattan, where the board held its final vote in June. City Hall spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach said the board is an independent body and made its decision without political interference.
The tenant groups contend that the board followed its usual protocol, even if the result was unprecedented. The Rent Guidelines Board held a series of public hearings and considered “copious data showing that many tenants, as well as some landlords, were facing economic hardship,” they wrote in their motion to intervene in the case.
“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 written statement to Gothamist. “This freeze was lawful, justified and desperately needed.”
The landlords suing the city include seven limited liability companies that own properties in four of of the five boroughs, excluding Manhattan. They have demanded a range of documents from the city, including communications between City Hall officials and board members that could reveal political interference.
They point to a letter from former board member, landlord attorney Christina Smyth, who resigned her position the morning of the vote. Smyth said the Rent Guidelines Board had “become a body that starts with an answer and vibe codes its way backward to justify it” – in this case, a rent freeze.
But another member described a process free from City Hall influence. Board member Arpit Gupta, an economist and the lone member to vote against the rent freeze, said the board acted independently, even if he disagreed with the outcome.
“One thing I can say is that, unlike in some previous years, I observed no interference by the administration in individual members’ decisions,” Gupta said at an event hosted by the urban policy group Vital City.
Randy Mastro, a former deputy mayor representing the landlords, told Gothamist he was still reviewing the tenant groups’ filing.
The Rent Guidelines Board approved a one-year freeze on three previous occasions, all under Mayor Bill de Blasio. The board voted to raise rents by a combined 12% during Mayor Eric Adams’ four years in office.
Attorneys from the Legal Aid Society and Legal Services NYC are representing the advocacy groups in court.
Legal Services NYC Deputy Litigation Director Melissa Banks said millions of tenants would “be thrown into a complete confusion” if the judge did decide to overturn the Rent Guidelines Board's decision and order a new process or vote.
Another group of tenants and advocates said it also planned to file a motion to oppose the landlords’ complaint. The group includes veteran tenant attorney Sam Himmelstein and former Rent Guidelines Board Executive Director Tim Collins, who held the position in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Tagged
Zohran Mamdani
housing
new york city
David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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