More than Half of NYC Tenants are Rent Burdened with Nearly 10% Eviction Rate Increase
Majority of New Yorkers Support Rent Freeze
NEW YORK – This morning, the NYC Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) held its third public meeting to discuss the economic factors affecting tenants. New data show that tenants citywide, but especially in the Bronx, are struggling as costs rise and wages are not keeping up for the majority of workers.
The 2026 Income and Affordability report, which compares unemployment rates; wages; housing court and eviction data; and rent and poverty levels, also found high rates of rent-burdened tenants. More than half (51.6%) of NYC tenant households are rent burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on rent, and 28.8% are severely rent-burdened, with 50% or more of their income going to rent. Bronx tenants in particular are facing lower inflation-adjusted wages and income but the borough’s rents are rising at the fastest rate. The report also found a 9.7% increase in residential evictions across NYC.
The RGB also discussed new data from Housing Preservation and Development, which shows insurance costs as the biggest issue facing rent stabilized landlords. Mayor Mamdani announced a proposal today to create a city-backed insurance program to lower operating costs for building owners.
Tenants are demanding a rent freeze for the 2.4 million tenants living in rent stabilized units in the city.
Sumathy Kumar, NYS Tenant Bloc Director, released the following statement in response to the meeting:
“New Yorkers are being priced out of their homes as costs soar. Tenants are the majority of New York City, and the city depends on us. Rent is the highest bill we pay every month and every time it goes up, more New Yorkers risk losing their homes. A rent freeze is the common sense first step to overcoming NYC’s housing crisis.”
Background:
New data from the 2026 Income and Affordability Study shows that real (inflation-adjusted) wages are declining in the Bronx and Brooklyn. Rents are rising fastest in the Bronx, where wages are lowest and the poverty and unemployment rates are the highest. Additionally, data presented to the RBG from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development found 89% of pre-1974 properties that were 100% rent stabilized had positive Net Operating Income, and the average income for that subset was 1.74x the cost of expenses.
Data in the RGB’s 2026 Income and Expense report shows that landlord incomes rose 6.2% from 2023 to 2024, following increases of 12.1% and 10.4% in the prior two years. Over the past three years, Net Operating Incomes (NOI) have risen by nearly 30%, while tenants continue to struggle to make rent. Average rent collections increased 4.8%, while the share of distressed properties remained steady.
Additional data released by the RGB this year shows that economic conditions are improving for landlords. Mortgage rates have decreased, meaning landlords are paying less to the bank, and the share of non-performing loans has decreased. Sales of rent stabilized buildings have increased, and sale prices for rent stabilized buildings also rose for the first time since 2022.
Housing costs are the #1 driver of inflation and people’s biggest expense each month. A 2025 survey by the Community Service Society showed that half of rent stabilized tenants are struggling to make ends meet, and two-thirds lacked emergency savings. 37% of very low-income NYC households live in rent stabilization – three times more than live in public or subsidized housing.
In November, more than one million tenants voted for Mayor Mamdani’s promise to make the city more affordable and freeze the rent. Analysis from the Community Service Society shows a rent freeze would save New Yorkers up to $7 billion or an average of nearly $600 per month. 78% of New Yorkers support a rent freeze, according to a 2025 Data for Progress Poll.
More than half a million people left NYC between 2020 and 2023 in search of lower housing costs. New York’s Black population has decreased by almost 200,000 people over the past 20 years because of the high cost of living. In NYC, Black and Latino New Yorkers live in rent-regulated housing at higher rates than any other group.
Landlords say they cannot maintain buildings without raising the rent, but according to a 2023 analysis from the Community Service Society, most tenants saw no improvement to their building or apartment, despite rent increases. Housing distress is not limited to rent regulated tenants. 65% of New York City tenants experienced a housing quality issue in the past three years.
