A majority of NYC’s rent-stabilized tenants spent over a third of income on housing last year
Image courtesy of edwardhblake on Flickr
Most of New York City’s one million rent-stabilized tenants paid roughly a third or more of their income on rent in 2022, a new report found. According to the city’s Rent Guideline Board’s annual “Income and Affordability Study” released on Thursday, more than half of tenants in stabilized apartments spent at least 32.2 percent of their income on rent, as Gothamist first reported. Tenants who spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent are considered rent burdened, according to federal guidelines.
Key metrics from the board’s annual analysis included stagnant wages, rising employment, and surging inflation data during 2022, a tumultuous year in the city’s economy as it continued to recover from the pandemic. The nine-member board uses the figures found in the report to determine and set rent increases for tenants of stabilized apartments.
The board also uses the yearly “Income and Expense” study to determine rent increases. The study analyzes how much money landlords spend and earn from buildings that contain rent-stabilized apartments.
According to the study, the median annual income for households in rent-stabilized apartments last was roughly $47,000, with median rent sitting at approximately $1,400 per month.
Employment is indicated to have increased by seven percent, with the unemployment rate falling by 4.3 percentage points to 5.7 percent, according to the study. Both average and total wages increased by 3.6 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively.
During 2022, homelessness rose to record levels. Evictions also increased exponentially due to the end of a nearly two-year suspension of most evictions during the pandemic. However, this figure was still far behind pre-pandemic levels.
The Legal Aid Society called on the board to commit to a rent freeze.
“This report illustrates the dire reality rent-stabilized tenants currently face. From historically high inflation, rising rents that demand more than 30 percent of a tenant’s monthly income, stagnant wages, the increased need for SNAP and cash assistance benefits – coupled with New York’s skyrocketing cost of living – tenants are clearly at the brink,” the group said in a statement.
“Meanwhile, landlords continue to line their pockets, receiving $1.8 billion – with another $561 million expended for prospective rent payments – from New York’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program, on top of tens of millions more from the State’s Landlord Rental Assistance Program.”
“From historically high inflation, rising rents that demand more than 30 percent of a tenant’s monthly income, stagnant wages, the increased need for SNAP and cash assistance benefits – coupled with New York’s skyrocketing cost of living – tenants are clearly at the brink,” The Legal Aid Society said in a statement.
But landlords are calling for another rent hike after a study released by the board found a 3.2 percent increase in expenses and a 9.1 percent fall in operating income between 2020 and 2021, as Brick Underground reported.
Last year, the RBG voted to approve a 3.25 percent increase for one-year leases and a 5 percent increase for two-year leases starting on or after October 2022. The rent hikes were the largest seen in the city since 2013.
The RGB is holding a series of public hearings to gain insight from tenants and property owners before the board’s final vote in June.
The next public hearing is set to take place on April 20 in Manhattan.
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