Records Show Big Earners Occupying Rent-Regulated Apartments

Recently, the Citizens Budget Committee and DNAinfo looked at the census numbers and state records and found that in 2010, 22,642 of the city’s 970,000 rent-stabilized apartments (approximately 2.3 percent) were occupied by households making more than $199,000. Of those, 2,300 apartments were occupied by people making more than $500,000.

Having a rent-regulated apartment can mean significant savings. A report by City Comptroller Scott Stringer noted that a recent study showed rent-regulated apartments in Manhattan reduced monthly rents by an average of $829. Many of these tenants uncovered by the analysis had remained in their apartments for decades, only losing their favorable housing deals when their monthly rents rose above $2,500 and owners were able to prove that they had earned more than $200,000 in each of the previous two years.

According to the DHCR, landlords filed 8,185 luxury decontrol petitions between Jan. 1, 2011, and Dec. 31, 2013. But the DHCR approved only 291 luxury decontrol requests during that time period, according to records obtained by DNAinfo under a Freedom of Information Law request.