Mayor Mamdani Signs Sweeping Tenant Protection Act, Expanding Rent-Stabilization to 400,000 New Units

NEW YORK -- Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed the Tenant Protection Act of 2026 into law on Tuesday in a ceremony at Gracie Mansion attended by dozens of housing advocates, union leaders, and City Council members who spent years pushing for legislation that extends rent-stabilization protections to an estimated 400,000 apartments in buildings constructed after 1974 -- a category that has been exempt from stabilization since the current law was written half a century ago. The signing represents the most significant expansion of tenant protections in the city's history since the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 itself.

The new law, which passed the City Council in a 42-to-9 vote in June after months of negotiation between tenant advocates, landlord groups, and the Mamdani administration, takes effect on January 1, 2027. It applies to residential buildings constructed between 1974 and 2010 that contain six or more units and are not subject to a current tax abatement requiring affordability. Buildings constructed after 2010 remain exempt under a carveout negotiated to avoid deterring new construction. Existing tenants in newly covered buildings will be entitled to renewals under regulated terms; landlords will be permitted annual increases tied to the Rent Guidelines Board's determination rather than market rates.

Landlord groups responded with immediate criticism, arguing that the expansion will reduce investment in older housing stock, defer capital improvements, and ultimately shrink the city's rental supply over the medium term. The Rent Stabilization Association, which represents owners of stabilized buildings, called the bill a 'generational error' and said its legal team was reviewing options for a constitutional challenge. Housing advocates disputed the argument, pointing to studies of rent stabilization's effects that found no consistent relationship between stabilization and reduced housing supply in high-demand urban markets.

The Mamdani administration framed the signing as a response to what officials described as a housing affordability emergency that has intensified since the pandemic. Median asking rents in New York City hit $4,200 per month in May, a 31 percent increase over 2020 levels. The number of rent-burdened households -- defined as those spending more than 30 percent of income on housing -- rose to an estimated 54 percent of all renter households in the five boroughs last year. The administration's housing commissioner called the bill the most important thing this administration has done and said the mayor's signature represented a turning point in how the city manages its housing stock.