New Comptroller Stringer Report: Options for Working New Yorkers Vanishing as City Lost Over 425,000 Affordable Apartments Since 2005

September 26, 2018 NYC Comptroller Newsroom 

Number of apartments renting for over $2,700 more than doubled
City lost nearly 90,000 units of rent-regulated housing
Comptroller Stringer calls on Albany lawmakers to pass stronger rent protections

(New York, NY) – New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer today released an updated analysis that reveals the alarming decline of affordable apartments for New Yorkers since 2005.  The report, “The Gap is Still Growing: New York City’s Continuing Housing Affordability Challenge” builds off of a 2014 analysis released by the Comptroller and shows that as hundreds of thousands of new residents move to the City – not only has the total number of units failed to keep up, but the alarming drop in affordable and rent-regulated units has continued, with over 425,000 affordable apartments leaving the market since 2005.  This dynamic is leaving working New Yorkers with fewer affordable rental units and is fueling a growing affordable housing crisis.

Key findings from the report include:

  • Since 2005, New York City experienced a net loss of over 425,000 apartments renting for $900 or less, in inflation-adjusted 2017 dollars.

  • At the same time, the number apartments renting for over $2,700 more than doubled, taking the place of over 25 percent of lost low-rent units.

  • A large portion of the decline in affordable housing comes from the erosion of rent stabilized units, of which the city has lost 88,518 units since 2005 – more than the entire addition of new rental housing over the same period.

  • All rent figures are in inflation-adjusted 2017 dollars, further emphasizing the rising cost of renting an apartment in New York City.

“Our city is losing low-rent apartments every day, and it’s putting whole communities at risk. We have an affordable housing shortage – and this report shows how quickly the loss of affordable housing has accelerated in the last decade,” said Comptroller Stringer. “Behind these 425,000 lost units, are countless New Yorkers – families, seniors, students and immigrants – who are working harder than ever to put a roof over their heads. We can’t let the entrance fee to the city become a luxury condo, or we will stop being the city we know and love. As our City’s economy and population continues to expand, we need to use all the tools we can to protect our communities. Lawmakers in Albany must act swiftly to eliminate vacancy decontrol and pass other common-sense rent regulation reform that will preserve our affordable housing stock and keep New York accessible for working families.”

Further findings in the updated report include:

Stark Shifts in the Housing Market

Since 2005, the rental market landscape has shifted from one predominantly consisting of lower-cost units to a market dominated by middle, and, even more so, by high-rent apartments.

Changing Distribution of Units by Monthly Rent, 2005-2017

  • In 2005, apartments renting for $900 or less constituted 78 percent of all rentals. By 2017, that figure had fallen to 60 percent.

  • At the same time, the number of apartments renting for more than $2,700 shot up from less than 4 percent of all apartments in 2005, to 9 percent by 2017.

Erosion of Rent-Stabilized Housing Fuels Affordability Crisis

Contributing to this broad shift toward higher cost housing over this period was a continued erosion in the inventory of rent-stabilized housing.

Graph Additions and Subtractions to Rent-Stabilized Housing Inventory, 2005-2017

The analysis found:

  • The city experienced a net loss of 88,518 units of rent-stabilized housing between 2005 and 2017.

  • More stabilized units were removed from the inventory than were added in every year except 2017, when a large number of rental units were stabilized after the renewal of the 421-a program that provides tax exemptions for constructing affordable housing.

  • High-rent vacancy deregulation – which occurs when a vacant rent stabilized apartment legally surpasses the threshold amount of regulated rent – was the biggest contributor to the loss of rent-stabilized housing since 2005.

  • Higher thresholds for vacancy decontrol – as described above – which rose from $2,000 to $2,500 in 2011, and to $2,700 in 2015 have helped slow down the high-speed disappearance of rent-regulated units in recent years.

Comptroller Stringer is calling on Albany lawmakers to act swiftly on a package of rent-reform measures including eliminating vacancy decontrol, reforming major capital improvements, reforming individual apartment increases, reforming preferential rents, and ending the 20% vacancy bonus on rent stabilized apartments.

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