Rent freezes hit thin‑margin landlords

Many landlords in high‑cost cities like New York operate with narrow operating margins after taxes, debt service, maintenance, and regulation. Policy tools that freeze rents therefore risk reducing upkeep, discouraging investment, or prompting conversion/sales rather than delivering the intended tenant protection. — Framing rent‑freeze proposals around landlord profitability shifts the debate from moralizing rents to assessing fiscal impacts, informing more targeted policies that protect tenants without wrecking housing stock incentives.