Survey: City tenants owe $1.14B in back rent

Tenants living in New York City’s rent-regulated apartments owe an estimated $1.14 billion in unpaid rent, with about 50,000 of them in hock for more than $15,000 each, a new survey shows.

More than 175,000 tenants — about 19% of those living in rent-regulated apartments — owe at least two months back rent, a 300% increase compared to February, before the coronavirus pandemic crippled the city.

The survey, which was conducted by the pro-landlord Community Housing Improvement Program, found the average renter owes more than $6,100. According to the city’s Rent Guidelines Board, that’s about four and a half months rent.

About 5.6% of tenants are more than $15,000 in arrears, about 11 months back rent for tenants living in rent-regulated apartments.

Jay Martin, CHIP’s director, said that $1.3 billion in rental assistance that’s expected to come to the state as part of the federal government’s most recent COVID relief package is a welcome salve — but not nearly enough.

“To solve a problem we first have to understand the scale of the problem,” he said. “These numbers show that renters and housing providers will need more relief, either from the federal government or through creative strategies on the state level even after this initial allocation of relief.”

Gov. Cuomo signed off on the state’s most recent anti-eviction law in December. That law guards against foreclosures and owners falling victim to tax lien sales, but some landlords have complained they don’t qualify and that it’s not enough.

Several landlords claimed to the Daily News that tenants who still work are taking advantage of the eviction moratorium to skip out on rent payments.

“There are tenants who are unemployed who are paying full or partial rent,” Brooklyn landlord Sharon Redhead told The News. “And there are tenants who work who aren’t paying any rent at all.”