ALBANY — A state Senate bill introduced yesterday would freeze the rent for low- and moderate-income households in rent-subsidized apartments in New York City.

Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada is proposing a program to freeze the rents of nearly 300,000 households.

By the 10th year of his proposal, the rent for one-third of the city’s 1 million rent-stabilized apartments would be frozen for a decade.

The goal is to maintain affordable housing for working and middle-class residents. Renters earning up to $45,000 a year could be eligible.