Taking a look inside the NYC units sitting empty for years as renovation costs soar
Data from the Rent Guidelines Board shows operating costs for a rent‑stabilized apartment can reach upwards of $1,350 a month, meaning landlords may lose money even after a renovation.
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In the middle of New York City’s ongoing housing crisis, thousands of rent‑stabilized apartments remain vacant, even as demand for affordable housing continues to climb.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new housing plan pledges to build and preserve 400,000 units over the next decade, with an investment of $22 billion over the next five years.
A tour of a distressed one‑bedroom apartment in Washington Heights shows the challenge the city is facing firsthand. The unit has been vacant for about seven years, left untouched since the last tenant moved out.
The living room is filled with boxes of trash and a broken-down stove, while a rusted toilet lies on its side inside the bedroom.
“This unit became vacant after the 2019 rent law. It would take tens of thousands, if not over a hundred thousand dollars, to renovate,” said Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Apartment Association. “You have to remove the trash, make it lead-safe. You have to remove the walls...it's costly, labor, the insurance, the permits in New York City alone, electrical, plumbing."
Burgos says the average rent in the building is about $980 a month, and the total income for the building last year was $353,000. The building expenses were $300,000 and property taxes were $55,000.
Data from the Rent Guidelines Board shows operating costs for a rent‑stabilized apartment can reach upwards of $1,350 a month, meaning landlords may lose money even after a renovation.
“Owners have to decide on losing money every month by renting it out or losing an astronomical amount by putting money into the renovation and still losing money month over month,” Burgos said.
Just one floor below, another vacant unit tells a different story. Renovated in 2018, a year before the state strengthened rent regulations, the apartment is move‑in ready. Burgos argues the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act made it far more difficult for landlords to recover renovation costs.
“The law makes it so prohibitive to recoup your money that the unit just doesn’t go online,” he said.
The city’s most recent Housing and Vacancy Survey from 2023 shows roughly 9,800 rent‑stabilized apartments are vacant and unavailable, the highest level recorded since the 2019 law took effect.
The city began offering landlords up to $50,000 per apartment for major repairs in 2025. The mayor's Block by Block housing plan acknowledges that the program has gained little engagement, and to date, there have been no eligible applicants.
“The policy and the economics just do not make any sense,” Burgos said.
Mamdani’s administration argues the solution lies in lowering operating costs, which have skyrocketed since 2020.
The mayor's housing plan vows that the city will focus on reducing the biggest expenses for building owners, including insurance, utilities, maintenance and property taxes as part of a broader effort to preserve affordable housing.
