Source: TheRealDeal

Date Published: 07.22.2025

Link: There’s Cheap Housing Right Under Our Noses. Will NYC Mayoral’s candidates tap into it?

A cost-effective yet underutilized strategy for addressing New York City’s housing crisis: rehabilitating uninhabitable and vacant rent-stabilized apartments. Compared to new construction projects, which can cost upwards of $900,000 per unit, restoring existing units is significantly more affordable and faster. Private landlords could renovate multiple apartments for the cost of building just one, and have them ready for occupancy in a matter of months. Despite this, the approach lacks political appeal because it doesn’t offer the public visibility or media attention that new developments provide.

Political hesitation is a major obstacle. Many lawmakers avoid supporting for-profit landlords out of fear of criticism from housing advocates, who often cast nonprofits as altruistic and landlords as exploitative. The 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act limited the amount landlords could recover through rent increases after making improvements, discouraging investment in vacant units. Although the cap was raised later, added restrictions made the policy largely ineffective. While industry groups claim over 50,000 rent-stabilized units remain vacant due to these policies, defenders of the law argue the number is closer to 3,000, fueling debate.

Despite awareness of the issue, none of the current mayoral candidates have proposed a solution. Past leaders, including Governor Cuomo and Mayor Adams, have also fallen short. In the absence of targeted reforms, landlords are turning to programs not designed for this specific problem. We should pursue a policy-based approach that focuses on activating existing housing stock rather than relying solely on expensive new construction. The city doesn’t need more ribbon-cuttings—it needs more homes.