Mamdanis NYC rent freeze already facing lawsuit threats: Its a sham

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rent-freeze is set to face serious legal challenges — with critics already slamming the newly-passed policy as a “political sham” that could cause huge rent hikes for market-rate tenants.Landlords have been gearing up for the legal battle for months in anticipation of Thursday’s Rent Guidelines Board vote, insiders told The Post, with lawsuits expected to be filed in the coming weeks.“Landlords might successfully argue that the freeze does not properly account for rising operating costs,” real estate lawyer Massimo D’Angelo said Friday.“They would need to show that the economic impact of a freeze and its interference with investment expectations is severe.”Another “potentially stronger” argument that building-owners could take to court would be that their due process rights were violated, with the RGB accused of ignoring evidence on landlords’ rising costs before enacting the pause.“Landlords would, in that case, argue that data on operating expenses weren’t properly considered,” D’Angelo said.If legal challenges are unsuccessful, D’Angelo predicted landlords will either sell their properties or begin neglecting them — none of which would benefit tenants Mamdani professes to help.“I think a lot of these buildings are going to be sold at a discounted rate,” he said. “A freeze that fails to account for these rising operating costs really strengthens the argument.“Landlords are just not going to make repairs to stabilizer units,” he said.

“There’s no incentive to update the units, leading to these tenants living in these subpar apartments.It helps no one.”The 7-1 vote was cheered by watching crowds, with the passage ushering into action one of core tenets of Mamdani’s campaign — where the phrase “freeze the rent” was often plastered on signs, pushed on social media and chanted by supporters.It came after hours one member of the nine-person RGB, a landlord advocate appointed by for...