Rent-stabilized buildings in New York are in severe financial distress.

It is up to the Rent Guidelines Board to prevent these buildings from deterioration. If they don’t the homes of hundreds of thousands of renters are at risk.

Older rent-stabilized buildings in New York are in severe financial distress. They have been defunded by billions of dollars in the past five years — forcing hundreds of buildings into foreclosure and thousands more into disrepair. The city’s own data proves how dire the situation is. But elected officials have done nothing to lower costs they control, like property taxes.

 Here are the Facts

  • In the past five years, rent-stabilized unit operating costs have increased at double the rate of rent increases.

    Insurance costs have tripled.

    New York City is increasing water and sewer costs by 8.5% this year.

    Property taxes have increased 70% in the past decade.

    In 2023, roughly half of older rent-stabilized apartments had operating costs that were higher than the rent.

  • Reasonable rent adjustments need to focus on older rent-stabilized buildings, since those are the ones completely reliant on this board for their operating budgets. They do not receive subsidies or other government assistance and they do not have market-rate units to offset the low rents.

  • The most common factors these buildings are facing include dramatic declines in NOI, declining property values, increases in loan defaults, and increases in tax delinquencies. The RGB must commit to a rent adjustment above the CPI-adjusted commensurate guideline over the next few years to ensure no future NOI declines occur at these buildings and they can begin to restore economic balance.

  • Pre-1974 buildings outside the core of Manhattan saw net operating income decline by 7% in 2022.

    100% stabilized buildings in the Bronx saw income decline by 19% in 2022.

    In more than half of rent-stabilized buildings, the rents do not cover operating costs, according to the RGB data.

    Since 2016, net operating income for ALL rent-stabilized buildings is DOWN 24.73%, when adjusted for inflation