NYC's 100000 Vacant Apartments

If you've moved to NYC in the last few years, you've probably complained about the rising rents to anyone that'll listen. Chances are, you've also heard city officials go on about the looming housing crises all while pushing the blame on greedy landlords. But is that the full picture? Keep reading.

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In 2019, NYC passed a set of one of its strictest tenant protection laws to date: The Tenant Protection Act (TPA). Like most issues that stem from enacted public policy, they start off with great intentions. The TPA was put in place in a bid to protect tenants, particularly those in rent controlled/stabilized apartments, from large increases in rental costs.

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However, the unintended side effect of the TPA is now the almost 100,000 vacant rent stabilized apartments in NYC that are sitting empty because landlords are discouraged from renting them to anyone. A big chunk of the city's rent stabilized apartments are actually owned by small-time landlords, not faceless corporations.

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The 100,000 vacant apartments could make a big impact on the city's ongoing housing crises if owners had the incentive to fix them up and rent them back out at the free market rent to New Yorkers that were willing to pay for it.

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A summary of the few restrictions that the TPA put in place include: 

• Landlords can no longer increase rental amounts more than ~ $80 to $90/month even after paying for extensive upgrades to units
• Tenants are not required to pay more than 1 month's rent as a security deposit
• Application fee caps at $20
• Tenants are able to renew leases even if they pass the apartment down to a family member (without any rental applications, credit checks, etc.) 

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This content is meant for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as financial, tax, legal, or insurance advice.