Mamdani's Tax Hike Fiasco: Raising Landlord Taxes Will Only Jack Up Rents for Struggling New Yorkers

February 21, 2026

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's latest budget gimmick is already backfiring on the very people he claims to champion, as his desperate push to raise taxes on landlords and property owners threatens to trigger a wave of rent increases across the five boroughs. The self-proclaimed socialist firebrand, who rode a wave of populist promises to City Hall, now finds himself cornered by fiscal reality, proposing measures that critics say will screw over the working-class renters who foolishly believed his rhetoric about making the city more affordable.

In his Fiscal Year 2027 Preliminary Budget released earlier this week, Mamdani floated a "last resort" 9.5 percent property tax increase to close a $5.4 billion budget gap if Albany refuses to greenlight his preferred plan to hike income taxes on millionaires and corporations. Property taxes fall squarely on landlords and building owners, who experts warn will have no choice but to pass the costs directly onto tenants through higher rents. "This isn't rocket science," said Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City. "Landlords aren't charities; increased taxes mean increased rents for everyone, including the middle class Mamdani pretends to protect."

Mamdani's administration insists the property tax hike is avoidable if Governor Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers approve raising personal income taxes on those earning over $1 million to a new flat rate of 2 percent, along with bumping the corporate tax rate to 11.5 percent. But with Albany showing little appetite for such measures, the mayor's bluff could soon become reality, hitting property owners with a 9.5 percent levy increase that would generate billions but at the expense of everyday New Yorkers.

Real estate groups and economists have sounded the alarm: a nearly 10 percent jump in property taxes would force landlords to raise rents by an average of 5 to 7 percent just to break even, according to a report from the Rent Stabilization Association. For a typical two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn or Queens renting at $3,200 a month, that could mean an extra $160 to $224 per month , or nearly $2,700 annually , piled onto families already stretched thin by inflation and high living costs. "Mamdani sold voters a fairy tale about taxing the rich to fix everything," said Joseph Strasburg, president of the Rent Stabilization Association. "Now the bill comes due, and it's renters who pay."

The irony is thick: Mamdani campaigned as a champion for affordable housing, vowing to freeze rents and build 120,000 new units. Yet his own budget math now threatens to do the opposite, potentially worsening the city's housing crisis by driving up costs for the 2.4 million rent-stabilized units and pushing more landlords to convert properties or exit the market altogether. Small property owners, many of whom are middle-class immigrants or family businesses, say the hike could force them to sell or raise rents beyond what tenants can afford.

Critics, including former Governor Andrew Cuomo and moderate Democrats, have blasted Mamdani's approach as reckless socialism that ignores economic realities. "You can't tax your way to prosperity," Cuomo tweeted. "This plan will chase jobs and capital out of New York while sticking working families with higher rents." Even some progressives have distanced themselves, with City Council members warning that a property tax surge would disproportionately hit multifamily buildings in outer boroughs where middle-income renters live.

Mamdani's team defends the proposal as a necessary pressure tactic on Albany, insisting the primary goal is taxing the ultra-wealthy to fund housing and services without burdening average New Yorkers. But with Hochul showing no signs of budging, the mayor's "last resort" increasingly looks like the only resort , one that could leave his supporters feeling betrayed and the city facing a new wave of unaffordability.

As Albany debates and City Council reviews the budget, New Yorkers brace for potential rent hikes that could redefine the cost of living in the nation's largest city. For Mamdani, the gamble risks turning his progressive dream into a renter's nightmare. Full budget details are available on the NYC Mayor's Office website.