Independent Investigation Shows Less than 5% of Rent-Stabilized Units in NYC are Vacant

A new investigation conducted by the IBO (Independent Budget Office) has shown that the vast majority of rent-stabilized apartments in New York City are consistently occupied year after year. 

These apartments play a crucial role in providing affordable housing options, especially in a city where market-rate rents continue to soar. With their lower rental costs, guaranteed lease renewals, and limits on rent hikes, these units are highly sought after by prospective tenants.

However, there has been growing concern among advocates and elected officials in recent months regarding the extended vacancies of rent-stabilized apartments. Given the city's ongoing housing crisis, compounded by a record number of people in homeless shelters, the presence of unoccupied rent-stabilized apartments represents an underutilized resource in the rental housing market. At the same time, the natural turnover of rent-stabilized apartments means that some of these units may be briefly unoccupied at any given time but are quickly snapped up by new tenants.

To gain insight into this issue, the Independent Budget Office analyzed annual apartment registration data to estimate how many consecutive years rent-stabilized units stay vacant. Property owners typically register around 880,000 apartments each year with the New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). 

While the U.S. Census Bureau's New York City Housing Vacancy Survey provides a snapshot of housing conditions in 2021 based on survey samples, HCR data offers an annual perspective on rent-stabilized apartments. The IBO identified apartments registered with HCR as vacant in both the current year and the previous year as an indicator of apartments that have remained unoccupied for at least a year. This aligns with rent stabilization rules, which typically require apartments to be rented for one- or two-year leases rather than shorter terms.

Furthermore, the IBO found that, on average, less than 5% of rent-stabilized apartments are vacant, and that most of the vacant units remaining empty for less than a year. 

In addition to that, most of the units that were vacant in 2022, were occupied the previous year, something that, as previously stated, aligns with rent stabilization rules. The highest vacancy rent was achieved in 2021 when, in the midst of the pandemic, lots of people left Manhattan. Fast-forward to 2022, over two-thirds of those empty units were now occupied. 

See the full report published by the IBO here.