Breaking News
MarsLink News
Fast, Reliable, and Uncensored News Coverage
NYC Landlords Warn of Financial Squeeze as Property Assessments Rise and Rent Freeze Planned
MLN — 20 JAN 2026: New York City property owners are preparing for higher tax bills following updated assessment rolls, as Mayor Zohran Mamdani moves toward implementing a citywide rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments, according to landlords and housing groups.
Owners of buildings with regulated units say freezing rents would reduce revenue needed for maintenance and operations, potentially forcing landlords to raise rents on market-rate apartments to offset rising costs.
Rent-stabilized apartments are subject to annual adjustments set by a citywide board made up of landlord and tenant representatives. In 2025, the board approved rent increases of 3 percent for one-year leases and 4.5 percent for two-year leases.
Smaller properties are also affected. One-to three-family homes saw assessments rise an average of 4.7 percent, potentially leading to higher tax bills across the city.
“You want to freeze the rent? Freeze the property taxes or lower them. Right now, you’re increasing the expenses to my building,” Lopes added, according to the New York Post.
The Department of Finance released preliminary assessment rolls last week for the July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027, tax year. While tax rates have not changed, higher market valuations are expected to drive larger bills.
“These higher assessments mean one thing, higher property tax bills,” a spokesman for Homeowners for an Affordable New York said.
“Mayor Mamdani promised to make the city more affordable; yet under his watch, the city is quietly hiking taxes that property owners will inevitably pass on to tenants,” the spokesperson added. “Rising assessments are an invisible rent hike for every tenant in New York, and ordinary homeowners are being squeezed, too.”
The Mamdani administration said the city has not raised property tax rates.
“No, the City has not increased property taxes rates since January 1st, the last mayor to do so was Mike Bloomberg, Mamdani spokesman Dore Pekec said. “This annual preliminary report is simply an assessment of property values. The mayor has made it clear he plans to advocate for reform to our broken property tax system.”
