What is the Rent Guidelines Board?
The NYC Rent Guidelines Board is a nine-member body charged by state law with setting annual rent adjustments for the approximately one million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City. The board holds annual public meetings and hearings, reviews research from its staff, and votes on the rent increase or freeze that applies to leases signed during the following year.
The board is structured with two tenant representatives, two landlord representatives, and five public members. The mayor appoints all nine members as their terms come up. The board is, by statute, independent — meaning it is supposed to set rates based on data and analysis, not political direction.
Who currently sits on the board?
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has appointed six of the nine current members since taking office on January 1, 2026. Five of those appointments were made in February 2026. The mayor cannot replace a member before their term expires, but he can fill seats as they become vacant.
The current composition gives the Mamdani administration a structural majority of appointees, though each member votes independently and the board is required to base its decisions on the staff's data analysis.
What has the board voted on so far?
In April 2026, the RGB issued its preliminary range for the 2026-2027 lease cycle. According to coverage in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and 6sqft, the range is 0 percent to 2 percent for one-year leases and 0 percent to 4 percent for two-year leases.
A preliminary range is not a final vote. It establishes the floor and ceiling within which the final decision must fall. The final vote, scheduled for late June, will pick a specific number or numbers within that range — including, potentially, zero.
What does the data say?
The RGB staff produces the Price Index of Operating Costs (PIOC), Income and Expense Study, and other research that informs the vote. According to the 2026 PIOC, operating costs for rent-stabilized buildings rose meaningfully over the past year, with insurance among the fastest-growing expense categories. The Income and Expense Study tracks net operating income.
Landlord groups, including the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the Rent Stabilization Association (RSA), and the Small Property Owners of New York, argue that the preliminary range — particularly the possibility of zero increase — does not reflect documented cost increases facing building owners.
Tenant advocacy groups, including the Tenants Political Action Committee and Housing Justice for All, argue that the data on tenant rent burden, displacement, and overall housing cost growth support a rent freeze.
The RGB will weigh these competing analyses through the public hearing process before the final vote.
What is a rent freeze, technically?
A rent freeze means the RGB votes for a 0 percent increase on both one-year and two-year leases for stabilized units. The current preliminary range includes 0 percent at its low end, making a freeze possible but not certain.
A rent freeze applies prospectively: it affects leases signed during the relevant lease year (October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027). Existing leases continue at their previously agreed-upon rates until the lease's natural expiration.
A rent freeze does not affect:
- Market-rate apartments (which are not subject to RGB).
- Existing rent stabilized leases until renewal.
- Buildings that have left rent stabilization through high-rent vacancy decontrol (a path largely closed by the 2019 reforms).
- Future Major Capital Improvement (MCI) or Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI) rent adjustments, which are regulated separately.
What happens between now and the final vote?
Three significant steps:
— Public hearings. RGB will hold hearings in May and June where tenants, landlords, advocacy groups, and elected officials testify. Hearing dates are posted on the RGB's website (rentguidelinesboard.cityofnewyork.us).
— Additional research review. Staff updates to the PIOC and Income and Expense Study, as well as analysis of comments submitted, will be reviewed by the board.
— Final vote. Scheduled for late June. The exact date is set by the board and posted on the RGB website.
The final vote will apply to leases signed from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
What can a stabilized tenant do to prepare?
For tenants in rent-stabilized apartments, three practical points apply:
— Verify your stabilization status. New York State's Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) maintains a registration database. Tenants can request their building's registration history and their unit's rent history. As of January 1, 2026, the Rent Transparency Act also requires landlords to post a sign in stabilized buildings notifying tenants of their stabilized status.
— Attend or watch the hearings. RGB hearings are open to the public. Audio and written records of testimony are posted publicly. Tenants who wish to testify can sign up through the RGB website.
— Renew strategically. Tenants approaching lease renewal in fall 2026 may benefit from waiting until after the final RGB vote to sign their renewal, since the adopted rate will apply to renewals signed during the relevant lease year. Tenants whose current lease expires before October 2026 must renew at the rate currently in effect.
What can a stabilized landlord do to prepare?
For owners of rent-stabilized buildings:
— Submit operating cost documentation. The RGB Income and Expense Study draws on owner submissions. Owners can document insurance, tax, utility, and other operating cost increases through the formal RGB submission process.
— Testify at hearings. Owners and industry groups can present documentation of financial distress at public hearings, with testimony reviewed by the board before final vote.
— Understand what the vote does not do. The RGB vote sets the maximum increase for new leases. It does not affect existing lease terms, MCI/IAI rent adjustments, or any owner's ability to seek rent stabilization administrative remedies through DHCR.
What if the final vote is a freeze?
If RGB votes for 0 percent increase, the following effects apply for the 2026-2027 lease year:
— Tenants whose stabilized leases renew in that period would see no rent increase as part of the standard renewal. — Landlords would not be able to collect increased rent under standard RGB-authorized increases on those renewals. — Other rent adjustments (MCI, IAI, Section 8 program rent adjustments, etc.) remain available subject to their respective rules. — Operating cost pressures landlords face would not be offset by RGB increases for that year.
What if the final vote is at the high end?
If RGB votes near the top of the range (2 percent for one-year, 4 percent for two-year), tenants on stabilized leases renewing during the 2026-2027 lease year would see those increases applied. Landlords would collect the increased rent on those renewals.
When is the vote, exactly?
The final RGB vote is expected in late June 2026. The specific date will be posted on rentguidelinesboard.cityofnewyork.us.
Sources: NYC Rent Guidelines Board, official website at rentguidelinesboard.cityofnewyork.us; RGB 2026 Price Index of Operating Costs; RGB Income and Expense Study; The Wall Street Journal coverage of preliminary RGB vote (April 2026); Bloomberg coverage of RGB vote and Mamdani board appointments (April–May 2026); 6sqft coverage of RGB preliminary range; Insurance Journal coverage of landlord operating cost positions (May 2026); New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) public guidance on rent stabilization; NYC Rent Transparency Act (Intro. 1037, effective January 1, 2026); statements from REBNY, the Rent Stabilization Association (RSA), Small Property Owners of New York, Tenants Political Action Committee, and Housing Justice for All as quoted in cited coverage.
