New York City has roughly 57,000 vacant rent-stabilized “zombie apartments,” many of which landlords say cost more to repair and maintain than they could legally recover in rent.
To illustrate the growing problem, a group of small property owners had actors dressed as zombies march outside a Rent Guidelines Board hearing in mid-June, warning that rising taxes, insurance, utilities, unpaid rent, and court delays are pushing their buildings toward insolvency.
The board responded by approving a zero-percent rent increase, delivering on socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign promise to freeze rents while doing nothing to reduce landlords’ underlying costs. Rent freeze supporters insist owners remain profitable, but the board’s own data show that about 9 percent of buildings with regulated units already have operating expenses greater than their gross income—and that figure excludes debt payments.
New York’s price controls are supposed to preserve affordable housing, but by making apartments uneconomical to operate, they may be helping turn more of the city’s housing stock into the undead.
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