By:  Hadassa Kalatizadeh

New York City’s rent stabilized tenants are still lagging with their monthly payments.

A new survey from the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), shows that tenants in rent-stabilized apartments owe $1 billion on rent, more than three years after the pandemic. As reported by Crain’s NY, the landlord advocacy group’s study shows that some 93,500 tenants are more than three months behind in rental payments. Per CHIP, there are roughly 37,500 tenants who owe over $25,000, about 4,500 tenants who owe over $50,000 and around 500 tenants who owe more than $100,000 in back rent.  The study focused on rent stabilized buildings in NYC, which make up about half of the city’s rental units.  CHIP’s survey was conducted on Sept. 19 and 20 and received feedback from owners and operators at roughly 78,000 rent-stabilized units, whose tenants owed a total of roughly $98 million in rent.

As reported by Crain’s NY, the number of tenants behind on rent is lower than during the Covid-19 pandemic, however, too many tenants at rent-stabilized buildings are still behind in payments.  “The massive delays in housing court are causing an emergency funding crisis, with non-payment proceedings often taking more than a year to be adjudicated,” said CHIP Executive Director Jay Martin. “We need a solution now to ensure renters in need are getting help and rent-stabilized properties are not forced into insolvency.”  CHIP estimates that only about 50 percent of tenants who are over three months late with rental payments are even in housing court, according to CHIP’s estimates.

The advocacy group has proposed several solutions to help deal with rental arrears. The group suggests putting an immediate end to eviction stays and moratoriums related to hardships stemming from the pandemic.  Also, the group recommends expanding the 18-b program—an effort which provides lawyers for tenants facing eviction in criminal court who have established low-income.  Another idea, which has not yet been accepted, is to put a one-time temporary freeze on property taxes for buildings with large rent arrears, to provide some relief to landlords.  Founded in 1966, CHIP is a trade association for owners of over 400,000 rent-stabilized rental properties across New York City’s five boroughs.   The organization has about 4,000 members to whom it provides educational programming, compliance assistance, and legislative advocacy.

During the pandemic, the state and federal government provided some rental aid. The NYS Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) had allocated some $3.1 billion in rent relief as of Aug. 28, but those funds ran out, according to state data. New York’s ERAP is no longer taking applications, as of January. Landlord and tenant groups have been trying to get more aid from the local and federal governments, but that outlook seems bleak, based on budget restraints.

Housing court officials have been partnering with the city to help tenants and landlords, according to Lucian Chalfen, spokesman for the state’s Office of Court Administration.