Rent-Stabilized Vacancies Plummeted Over Last 2 Years, Including for Units in Need of Repairs, New NYC Comptroller Report Finds

A new report by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, Accurately Assessing and Effectively Addressing Vacancies in NYC’s Rent Stabilized Housing Stock, found that the number of rent-stabilized units that are vacant and unavailable for rent fell dramatically (by 39%) over the past two years. The report estimates that fewer than 2,000 low-rent, rent stabilized units (renting for $1,500 or less) are sitting vacant because of landlords’ inability to make repairs.

As Albany lawmakers move forward toward a deal to help solve New York’s housing crisis, landlord-backed groups have argued that the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019 too severely limited the amount that rents can be raised on vacant units, rendering it economically inefficient to renovate rent stabilized units for re-rental. To better understand the issue, the Comptroller’s office analyzed data from the recently released 2023 Housing and Vacancy Survey (HVS) and other sources to assess the changes in conditions and composition of rental housing supply before and after the passage of HSTPA five years ago.

“The number of rent-stabilized units that are vacant and not available to rent, due to landlords’ inability to make repairs or for any other reason, fell significantly from 2021 to 2023,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “Our report found no evidence that the HSTPA led to an increase in vacant or distressed units in the city’s rent stabilized housing stock. There is simply no evidence for landlord claims that the HSTPA should be rolled back, or vacancy decontrol restored in any form.”

“For the small number of rent stabilized units that have been held off the market, a modest increase in the Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI) cap, along with narrowly targeted strategies for buildings facing genuine hardships, will get units back online, while ensuring tenants remain protected,” Lander continued.

The analysis found:

• The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant one-year bump in rental vacancies from 2020 to 2021. However, the rate of vacant units plunged since the pandemic; rent-stabilities units declined from 4.57% in 2021 to 0.98% in 2023.
• Between 2021 and 2023, landlords have fewer units that are vacant but not available to rent for any reason (e.g. held for occasional use, awaiting or undergoing renovation, legal dispute). This universe is much smaller for rent stabilized units than for all rentals.

• The number of rent stabilized units in NYC that are vacant but not available for rent for any reason declined from 42,860 in 2021 to 26,310 in 2023.
• The number of rent stabilized units deemed dilapidated or otherwise uninhabitable declined from 11,500 in 2021 to just over 3,000 units in 2023.

• For rent-stabilized buildings, the rate of sales and the value per unit recovered from the pandemic dip in 2020, and both returned to levels similar to those before the passage of the HSTPA in 2019.
• This report found no evidence that the HSTPA led to an increase in vacant or distressed units in the city’s rent stabilized housing.
• New York City likely has fewer than 2,000 vacant apartments that rent for less than $1,500 each month and have been held off the market due to an owners’ inability to make repairs.

To ensure that rent-stabilized buildings can receive the repairs they need to place rent-stabilized units back online, while ensuring tenants remain protected, the Comptroller’s office recommends three targeted strategies:

1. The State Legislature should raise the cap on IAI increases from $15,000 to $25,000 (the same level as the City’s new “Unlocking Doors” pilot program for units of this type) and peg it to inflation moving forward.

2. Modify New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR)’s existing program to address genuine cases of landlord hardships, including capital subsidies, rental vouchers, and preservation loans where appropriate.

3. The Mayor and City Council should include funding in New York City’s Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Budget for the “Neighborhood Pillars” program, to transition distressed privately owned housing into community ownership, make any necessary building repairs, and preserve the affordability for the long term. The “Homes Now, Homes for Generations” campaign, launched Monday by a coalition of New York City officials and advocates, is calling for the addition of $250 million for Neighborhood Pillars each year over the next four years.

Read full report here.

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