Overview
- Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani won on a promise to freeze rents for about two million rent-stabilized tenants and says he will pursue the plan through the Rent Guidelines Board.
- As mayor, he can appoint the board’s nine members, but any decision to hold rates flat must be justified by studies and current economic conditions rather than a directive.
- Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams could still fill six expired seats and can replace the chair before leaving office, potentially shaping the board Mamdani inherits.
- The board’s latest decision raised stabilized rents that took effect in October by 3% for one-year leases and 4.5% for two-year leases.
- Economists warn a freeze could reduce supply and investment, pointing to 26,000 empty stabilized units in city data and research linking San Francisco’s 1990s expansion to a 15% drop in rental housing.