Roughly 1 in 10 rent-regulated apartments were vacant in 2021, Census survey data reveals — far more than the 61,000 vacancies landlords reported to the state.
by Sam Rabiyah, The City
Tens of thousands of vacant rent-stabilized apartments landlords reported to New York State in 2021 likely understates the true number that are empty.
That’s the contention of officials at the city’s housing agency, who shared with THE CITY previously unreleased figures that show 88,830 stabilized apartments were vacant in 2021 — far more than the 61,000 tallied by the state.

The city Department of Housing Preservation and Development based its estimate on survey data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau last year. HPD calculated in its 2021 Housing and Vacancy Survey analysis that New York City has 1 million stabilized units in all, mostly in buildings constructed before 1974 or those built more recently with tax subsidies.
That’s roughly 1 in 10 rent-stabilized apartments.
The estimate, shared with THE CITY by HPD’s chief researcher, was not included in the “Selected Initial Findings” report based on the same data, which HPD presented to the City Council in May.
Recent Posts
Report Details Private Equity’s Stranglehold On US Healthcare
March 27, 2023
Take Action Now “The damage that private equity has wrought on Americans’ healthcare from cradle to grave, simply for profit, has become…
20 Years Later: Confessions Of A Conscientious Quitter
March 27, 2023
Take Action Now Like so many Americans, I was a victim of sadistic marketing that pushed me to believe that becoming a Marine was the best and most…
Here’s What To Know About The United Nations’ IPCC Reports
March 27, 2023
Take Action Now The IPCC might be the most used acronym in climate science. The scientists behind the influential IPCC report discuss what it is and…
We Don’t Have To Choose Between Nuclear Madmen
March 27, 2023
Take Action Now The madness has remained resolutely bipartisan. Joe Biden quickly dashed hopes that he would be a more enlightened president about…