Key findings and recommendations
Bad landlords are in the minority but have an outsized impact. Of the 763,276 buildings with residential units in NYC, less than 2% are managed by bad landlords.
- We found that 48% of evictions happen in buildings that experience a pattern of both multiple eviction actions and numerous building code violations which are indicative of landlord neglect and harassment.
- In 2017 there were approximately 232,000 eviction proceedings resulting in 21,000 residential evictions. About half of these — 111,000 eviction proceedings and 10,000 evictions — were in buildings owned by bad landlords.
- Residents of the Bronx are more than twice as likely as NYC residents as a whole to live in a building with a bad landlord.
- Nearly one-in-three people living in homes owned by a bad landlord live below the poverty line and one-in-four are children.
- One in five families living in a building owned by a bad land- lord face at least one eviction case a year, a rate that’s three times higher than amongst families with similar poverty rates but whose landlords are more responsible.
- A family living in a home owned by a bad landlord which faces an eviction proceeding will lose an average of half a week’s wages just due to time spent in housing court.
- The minimum cost to the public from bad landlord behavior is at least $300,000,000 annually — or nearly $100 in taxes per year for each household in New York, in addition to the costs borne by the tenants of these buildings.
These findings demonstrate that a significant portion of housing problems are caused by a limited number of specific bad actors and quantifies the enormous cost that these few owners impose on New Yorkers. The City’s recent investment in legal aid for tenants should help to counter this behavior, but the concentration of irresponsible landlords in specific areas suggests an additional focus on place-based and landlord based enforcement. It also demonstrates the need for better data on evictions, landlords and housing conditions.
Every year in New York City there are:
- Over 200,000 eviction cases and over 20,000 evictions ;
- Approximately 500,000 housing code violations issued; and
- Approximately 12,000 housing litigations filed by HPD or by tenants in housing court.
From 2013 to mid-2015 data, 48% of eviction cases filed were for housing units in buildings with repeated patterns of both evictions and violations. This means harassment and neglect by bad landlords likely contributed to about 100,000 eviction cases and 10,000 evictions each year.
One-fifth of families living in a building with a bad landlord face at least one eviction case a year.
Buildings which show these patterns of tenant abuse are a small fraction of the buildings in New York City. Of the 763,276 buildings with residential units in NYC, only 1.4% are managed by bad landlords. However, the buildings owned by bad landlords are, on average, far larger than other residential buildings, with an average of 36 units per building as opposed to 4.2 units per building for residential buildings overall. Because these buildings are so much larger, it leads to a relatively small number of owners having an oversize impact on the NYC housing market, with nearly one-in- five rental units managed by a bad landlord.
![Shutterstock 451520767](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_451520767.jpg?bossToken=834e5b15387a6169dccbf9d408b3728cf6106685e6f825b872c74d5d3bf20076 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_451520767.jpg?bossToken=567af36654e92da0f61377652861d7400880abff0ba4ec27a5153783c0fc198a 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_451520767.jpg?bossToken=e3375cbf050b17a314e84db0f416b8c6c3f3475f5269e7c78f967b2da07b4baa 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_451520767.jpg?bossToken=42ec60acfad651cf63efc4dac23cfb53f701d667419c4c9351c4bfa3faa8d182 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_451520767.jpg?bossToken=3329ed59ea6cf108de7730c37b91fad85a7c617963e948507e97019a6decb1e9 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_451520767.jpg?bossToken=78fd953939f62c1728d34d494c70490d0e8916071ec32de9448ec88ade8b4627 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_451520767.jpg?bossToken=f1be8ed3f4a73105f2c22ed4362c9436d9f06539ed8b405011f620d0502ca8a0 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_451520767.jpg?bossToken=a8e35042bae84f9ad6a370f80535e0da57290608c06a5eaa700ca05d3ccfe36e 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_451520767.jpg?bossToken=71b5cefb43b2b8071ccb37e4ac506e27aef25a848eb43d86669416ba6e6e5b47 1543w)
The hypothetical situations below contrast typical challenges and outcomes that families experience in buildings owned by responsible and irresponsible landlords.
Both families are headed by a single working parent who has a full time job, but which pays a modest $20/ hour without any benefits . Both have similar rent-stabilized apartments in older buildings in the same neighborhood with similar rents, but the two families’ experiences are completely different. These differences add up to considerable time, money, and health impacts.
Family A
Family A lives in a building managed by a responsible landlord.
Building A isn’t perfect. Fixtures and appliances are basic. There are sometimes problems with the heat or elevator. The landlord certainly isn’t known to give breaks or leeway on rent. But the landlord takes their responsibilities seriously, makes a good faith effort to provide safe and decent conditions for rent- paying tenants, and follows the law.
Family B
Family B lives in a building next door owned by an irresponsible landlord.
In Building B, however, the landlord employs a different model. Rent stabilized tenants are repeatedly harassed through unjust eviction actions. Basic maintenance is neglected and apartment repairs are not made unless it’s a new tenant paying a high market rent. When the heat or elevator gives out, it’s for weeks at a time with the City often having to come fix the problems.
Both families have an unexpected expense and have to pay the rent a week late.
![Rent](https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/300x300/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Rent.png?bossToken=cd732c300b8f7ff581c2759657c33d59b08ad77fb99a933d3a32251a37839115 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/600x600/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Rent.png?bossToken=5ace92d6e3f0ba0adb080f26f68aa64548a53e4ebdb60329e1b670ca7560098b 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/900x900/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Rent.png?bossToken=9eff2216accfb92b5d3d8bb8848bedf24be6c624c59ec23d1293365f66d17f6c 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1200x1200/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Rent.png?bossToken=f49834dd8204659515c67cf0ecf440c35d98a3f8da3706e2fb8659bf813fa9e9 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1500x1500/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Rent.png?bossToken=e3b47b7956d9c1bd8a98b04ba57930d616b3474bf4d5441c1e615471133a9371 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1800x1800/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Rent.png?bossToken=b56896f3dc0b32300893c8e88f9718d2c31e2768e36dfb2b79155192f2554893 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2100x2100/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Rent.png?bossToken=89b102dda6a26ad71fb0d3e4c57fbbbeabf1a4d077eb4ae8e072a8bfae4ecbf5 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2400x2400/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Rent.png?bossToken=57754131e8eb315f406673b6d26d0657ec096d3747284bfa9364009e03967b50 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2700x2700/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Rent.png?bossToken=7d19d89f3ba092a3ba20560678e95adfe276c5ca711460c50e39c2fada43cf05 1543w)
Family A
Family A is issued a $30 late fee with their next bill.
Family B
Family B is issued an eviction order falsely stating they haven’t paid rent for the last month, and has to fight it in court. The head of the household has to appear at the courthouse, losing a day’s wages to the initial hearing, and an additional day’s wages for the actual case, or $320 total. The landlord also issues them a bill for $95.00 to cover the cost of the process server, and another for $45.00 to cover the cost of the court filing fee with their next bill. While the family suspects this is improper they’re worried about having to repeat the court ordeal and missing more work, so they pay it. The bank also issues them a $5.00 fee to provide the cancelled check showing proof of rent payment. In total, these fees and lost wages cost them $465.00.
The building has a roach infestation.
![Roaches](https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/300x300/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Roaches.png?bossToken=c98e83cc34035687b258411c97b47e984d000d4c1882e3d32a4916c88644fc1a 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/600x600/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Roaches.png?bossToken=cb4c22922db9c6bb12b2f0c100926b54ac2c7025e7169896de71fe4c5926c8d0 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/900x900/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Roaches.png?bossToken=37724c7b7f408835c1b9ef9dd34f20d2e3f4b5c76200ee70592980fd92192c0f 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1200x1200/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Roaches.png?bossToken=32ca111a3a4a346206ea2ee5b95fd0f2d1a8de5e9fd9399e6ef8b9451619959a 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1500x1500/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Roaches.png?bossToken=cd5937f732c6e243206dbf50b217137973e0c114bc3464a63eedf379e23896a8 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1800x1800/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Roaches.png?bossToken=563846163e05c69075a45e90ed6da6c767af80605a2a370777fda2ec9778c52d 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2100x2100/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Roaches.png?bossToken=dcf9e0490768dce629418b5c040c784ad2a0322021447614bc7e11d53bf2d5e0 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2400x2400/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Roaches.png?bossToken=e826e11109035a764a1b34774274d905eac3adc2bb9376a42b2f359c946dc4fa 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2700x2700/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Roaches.png?bossToken=6d370822f6799d9259b67f9541b2af6931a3be0f3132cf8c411dc904623d3ffb 1543w)
Family A
The landlord of Family A sends an exterminator to treat the problem within a day, although the family does buy $10 worth of roach traps themselves in case they come back.
Family B
The Landlord of Family B doesn’t treat the roaches. The infestation triggers a parent’s allergies and requires $15 in over-the-counter allergy medication. The family also has to eventually throw away $20 worth of groceries because of the infestation & buy $15 worth of roach traps and other pest treatments themselves each month for the year just to keep the infestation at bay, for a total of $215 in added expenses.
The heat stops working in early January.
![Heat](https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/300x300/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Heat.png?bossToken=4457d9d9f1b3523f1aaf496b1f67cd913ea32811dcfb76cdeffbfb8907c5b2e0 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/600x600/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Heat.png?bossToken=bd79509b0dc7705674e961d4ecd1045cd2d4018fc7d31103fc9357120e1dea54 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/900x900/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Heat.png?bossToken=beed31de40197b666d09fba6d5cd8be20400c1805cc926e78902d7aef61f8a3b 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1200x1200/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Heat.png?bossToken=5568870b3501a4000e7d88de2616c3ffd56d14a2866f585155e0c2be5f087b19 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1500x1500/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Heat.png?bossToken=979eed321b2c77cd9f2ba47c0e5636ebb1eb804802106e2bd14d11610efa3a46 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1800x1800/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Heat.png?bossToken=1645c8fbbd7a316f7bc3ab41e5b7ef40dc1561e858ec892bb8cda1ee22ea4daf 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2100x2100/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Heat.png?bossToken=ed99466d286208a57ec1d079143081a511ecb962a619ba248ac4cf6173bd2138 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2400x2400/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Heat.png?bossToken=61235d214257b1d0e09c204ec29c8b86896f006366a39dcfb166a6907c5f73d2 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2700x2700/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Heat.png?bossToken=f4b01ec7bf7909664a357cd840954ca8a75b9165feb653c8e74519d39b25a399 1543w)
Family A
The landlord of Family A fixes the heat within two days, although the parent does send the children to sleep at a relative’s house the second night, costing them a $18 cab ride.
Family B
The landlord of Family B decides not to spend the money to fix the heat. The family ends up buying two cheap 1500-watt space heaters and runs them when home. This lasts for about two months, until the City sends an emergency repair team to replace the boiler. The space heaters cost $109 total with tax, and their use adds another $141 to their electric bill for a total of $250. One of the children also gets the flu, causing the parent to spend three of their five available sick days to stay home with them.
Mold develops on the bathroom ceiling.
![Shower](https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/300x300/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Shower.png?bossToken=1ebc175b862c4d98e9068421ecc5fada41eb16c71051bc8d39c0755e557576a4 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/600x600/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Shower.png?bossToken=9e30e2efe986c9b4218cc59ab905c76121e217124271ffe2a07b46cedf1348d1 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/900x900/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Shower.png?bossToken=79acd0343fb48ea4541dbbadb0011fe28bea51237acc53ed1e8dbdceee53e5e7 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1200x1200/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Shower.png?bossToken=e79053f0979083bedb8a49ef59f24af14a8a62bfaf684402500059f218d6a4be 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1500x1500/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Shower.png?bossToken=b6b1172fad31f2128e9bda1efb54e00deaa6728431924afec5bdd6380fec160f 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1800x1800/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Shower.png?bossToken=950f7d221cf0caeaa83423ce9ab1f66a6314f10e786b3fa942c17ef9620d90ce 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2100x2100/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Shower.png?bossToken=641635a3b41e1ca13e8d6a98e06230a733d9b4d499b7c3a80d8666b8cedcc1e0 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2400x2400/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Shower.png?bossToken=04fbc9fe14628dcff91612021093f74b4589004dc7de0f1310421bafa7840169 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2700x2700/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/Shower.png?bossToken=12ec16aabc9d5e170dec4a18121d51759e96e8623a2ab04ac11f66a9ad14f69a 1543w)
Family A
The landlord of Family A cleans up the mold the next week, although one of the children does have a mild asthma attack & the parent stays home with them that day.
Family B
The landlord of Family B ignores it, causing one of the children to have two severe attacks and miss three days of school on two occasions. The first time, the parent stays home using up the last three days of sick time. The second time though the parent has to hire a neighbor to babysit for $50, the other two days they take a $12 cab ride back and forth to a grandparent’s house. Each doctor visit also costs $10 in co-payments. Without money for professional mold remediation, Family B hires a neighborhood handyman for $100 to try and get rid of it. This helps but doesn’t completely rid the apartment of the mold. All in all this costs them $218.
![Family A family B](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/familyA-familyB.jpg?bossToken=6fe81705a9b8b5eb9723a2baf1ca1a0c89b450d662bcbec8259c77892ce10476 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/familyA-familyB.jpg?bossToken=61b697c32e81aa22273391ddeaec3e6958a37682303fa508843651a543ae6432 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/familyA-familyB.jpg?bossToken=2a78698cc3fb619c2d526fcdace21b3d7188686f14d34987e0779dd6ee99791d 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/familyA-familyB.jpg?bossToken=69012b12f4e3925031b2b329519848641c5a240aaf77d59834e30d0e18725087 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/familyA-familyB.jpg?bossToken=3c0c7750dbe38c158c1f749ebbd411ac13c22d1b560cdbc7d435f0e48b191dbc 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/familyA-familyB.jpg?bossToken=ad6090992fe9b6a5a6e229acbcb8bb69ee09b480805be909ad228ca48fa20dfa 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/familyA-familyB.jpg?bossToken=33015535e947b2b837a0b437a48f07f649649dafe0f8323b2eeda657130df18d 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/familyA-familyB.jpg?bossToken=aa67345632fb93c7da4920e267e3027d033db4e40ca8d474e2ea457aae844d92 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/familyA-familyB.jpg?bossToken=d031ca7203911a3c731b4861f4080ed42ab527ba6c9aa9611fd5ccaf191fdd59 1543w)
Bad landlords do not impact all New Yorkers equally. The one million people impacted by them live in specific parts of the city. 43% people affected by bad landlords live in the Bronx, and amount to nearly a third of the borough’s population. 26% live in Brooklyn, 16% live in Manhattan, 13% live in Queens and 1% live in Staten Island.
Bad landlords do disproportionately impact people who are economically vulnerable: 29% of people who live in homes managed by bad landlords live below the poverty line, compared to 19% for New Yorkers overall. The median income of these households is $40,000 per year, which is 30% lower than New Yorkers overall. 60% are Medicaid or Medicare recipients compared to 29% of New Yorkers overall.
Bad landlords are also more likely to impact children, people of color and people with disabilities: 88% are people of color compared to 67.7% living in New York overall; and 24.4% are children compared to 21.2% for New York overall. 12.4% are people with disabilities compared to 10.5% of New Yorkers overall.
Who lives in homes impacted by bad landlords?
- 1 million people
- 890,000 people of color
- 600,000 recipients of Medicare and Medicaid
- 280,000 people living below the poverty line
- 250,000 children
- 124,000 people with disabilities
- 110,000 seniors
![Impacted homes](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/impacted-homes.png?bossToken=8ed502ede63c7f62de430afe72b61be4488650a5da528b37153e3006264877f9 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/impacted-homes.png?bossToken=9d8e61277ac28ce346dfb374e54b09230d4267f28ba4d4bc10c98577ab37c12b 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/impacted-homes.png?bossToken=7a4a404a89827a7b85d8cf3eb6c66a072011125d76df5fa40332c05e27a52103 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/impacted-homes.png?bossToken=81f8a7b15101dd45f1e91310b7c721aa527fd0cfb680c98746d68308da7e5f8b 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/impacted-homes.png?bossToken=4ab7e6cc4601a2030835526ba3eeadf8b02a2490b6816ebe906dfc64db7ef5e0 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/impacted-homes.png?bossToken=aeee7107ede85d6b3c7a135c93d87ae15b0a87673643030a84bfd523e3aa8166 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/impacted-homes.png?bossToken=6568386c32cd1ad7942fd6adb147238fb37683e1a40817f2fc403fd1c8b42704 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/impacted-homes.png?bossToken=9b3abf8a16a97d76bab650e158ea8dd5eba67f8d772b76c8edfbe3344474d759 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/impacted-homes.png?bossToken=e9c12b0b5b2fa39ba88d5ab6f2c23dcbd9be23d642b7f842cc845a114dcb2a2b 1543w)
Communities with high concentrations of eviction cases and housing violations
![Shutterstock 1127894888](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_1127894888.jpg?bossToken=08d21a520c4e67cfd011eb2e20cb8a4607a441a4b1f74a10ed104ff2030e8b3c 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_1127894888.jpg?bossToken=fb108454658b2547d661947b8fadd6c3c556fdb29a770813c40a4cbfdd6a826e 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_1127894888.jpg?bossToken=6ae4a8b24602a84a611d29e2f2311bcf80a954377768ac101a7adb897bcc8488 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_1127894888.jpg?bossToken=6b8cd7696ecce39d987c76fdf9297dfa918d38f832fc2e00561f9b420d63912e 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_1127894888.jpg?bossToken=54a303dabbb2e7f2b9e041072bc3a0d741b65350fecf09621892aabe53a79388 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_1127894888.jpg?bossToken=404e2724dcd7309c7dd0a0621cba2a64222746d714fa07b47113bfd1a63ce89b 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_1127894888.jpg?bossToken=3c84ee0c1b553c004754c951479a65935af6938b497cc89ac374afcbd86897fb 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_1127894888.jpg?bossToken=5d88383a25e478668eb89473a4d3eeb4df2921bed861740356025619df55e0d8 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/work/Reports/2019-Reports/Bad-Landlords/shutterstock_1127894888.jpg?bossToken=7b4d90340adebec6d81eda5dc65b51745f1f0358564b1efe01858b103addfc5d 1543w)
Using conservative costs, the minimum cost to taxpayers from bad landlords is $307.1 million annually, or nearly $100 per New York City household annually.
Cost to taxpayers from bad landlords
*This does not include the cost from any unpaid fines, as the revenue from these fines would also not be collectable if the landlords were good actors and the fines not issued.
People living in homes managed by bad landlords face more problems. One-fifth of families living in a building managed by a bad landlord face at least one eviction case a year, that’s three times higher than amongst families with similar poverty rates but whose landlords are more responsible. They were also five times more likely to have documented lead and mold problems, four times more likely to have documented problems with pests and two and a half times more likely to have documented heat and hot water problems than families with similar poverty levels but better landlords.
Living under such housing conditions can have many impacts on people’s health, something that can be particularly harmful for people already dealing with the stresses of poverty or to vulnerable populations such as children, seniors and people with disabilities. Pest infestations, for example, can trigger allergies ; and lack of heat can lead to hypothermia . The stress from deal- ing with these challenges alone can lead to health problems . Building on comprehensive studies estimating the health and economic impacts of lead and mold exposure, we very conservatively estimate that:
- 339 children under 5 were exposed to lead due to bad landlords, leading to health problems such as brain damage and costing $680,000 dollars in medical and special education costs.
- 413 people with Allergic Rhinitis, 284 people with Asthma due to mold exposure, leading to $2.6 million dollars in total economic costs.
The approximately 70,000 families that face an eviction case every year due to a bad landlord find themselves also facing the various costs related to the legal system. They face losing wages due to time spent in court or having to provide for childcare; they may also need to pay for transportation to and from the court. In fact, many families are forced to bring their children to housing court . Another risk is being added to the tenant blacklist, which can make it very difficult to rent another apartment in New York City . We calculated that a family that faces an eviction will lose at a minimum of half a week worth of one earner’s wages just in time spent in court.
This report analyzes several fine-grained datasets in order to identify and quantify the impacts bad landlord behavior has on New York City and its residents. Throughout the report, we take a conservative approach, and the impacts we quantify should be seen as the floor for such costs -- actual costs are likely to be significantly higher but we lack the data to actually estimate them.
How We Identified Bad Landlords
Generally speaking, our approach was to identify recurring patterns in buildings in order to quantify bad landlord behavior. We did not seek to quantify the number of bad landlords, because analyzing the multiplicity of holding companies and the complexities of corporate structures to make such a determination was beyond the scope of this analysis. For simplicity’s sake, we treated buildings and BBLs (Borough, Tax Block & Lot) as interchangeable. We used several data sources: HPD’s violations database on NYC’s Open Data portal, the 2018 v.1 version of Pluto (filtered for buildings with residential units only), and a list of all evictions cases filed at NYC’s Housing Court between January 2013 and June 2015. As we wanted to identify building-wide trends, we geocoded the evictions list to get a BBL, and achieved a success rate of 94%.
Filing frivolous eviction cases often serve as a way for landlords to harass rent-regulated tenants and force them to leave their apartments. We assumed that buildings with high eviction rates and poor housing conditions indicated this behavior, and found a pattern that pointed to a small number of landlords being responsible for a disproportionate share of evictions and violations. We identified bad landlords as those that between 2013 and mid 2015 met all the following conditions: (1) had at least two evictions filings in NYC’s housing court; and (2) the ratio of eviction cases divided by total residential units was 0.3 or greater; and (3) they were issued at least 10 housing code violations by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. We found that 48.4% of evictions during that time period happened in buildings that met the above conditions.
We looked at other permutations as well and saw the same pattern of relatively concentrated evictions: 41.6% of evictions happened in buildings that had met all of the conditions above and had one or more litigations filed by a tenant or HPD between 2013 and 2018. 57% of evictions happened in buildings where there was one or more eviction (2013-2015) and one or more litigation (2013-2018). 68% of evictions took place in buildings where there were five or more evictions (2013- 2015) and five or more violations (2013-2018) per building.
While buildings with bad landlords had on average 0.76 evictions per building unit and 63 violations per building, the average residential or mixed use building had 0.16 evictions per housing unit and 0.84 violations per building during that period. We also found a similar pattern with housing litigations brought by HPD or tenants naming HPD. Also, because New York City has increased enforcement since 2015, the average annual number of violations issued in 2013 and 2015 was 388,492 while the average annual number of violations in the years 2015-2017 was 540,311. Meanwhile, the annual number of evictions cases has remained the same. This means that had we been able to use more current evictions data than 2013-2015 we likely would have identified a larger number of buildings with bad landlords.
Once we identified the number of buildings owned by bad landlords, we multiplied them by the number of residential housing units to get the total number of housing units with bad landlords: 385,697.
How We Estimated The Impact On People
To get a demographic profile of the people most impacted by bad landlords, we divided the number of housing units impacted by bad landlords by the total number of housing units. We then used a crosswalk to census tracts provided by Pluto to calculate a demographic profile, prorating both for share of units impacted and population size.
We defined lead problems as housing units where HPD initiated a lead-related housing action in recent years. This is a conservative estimation and likely does not capture nearly the full universe of lead-related health impacts. To calculate lead exposure, we derived share of children exposed to lead by dividing total number of children under the age of six with high blood lead levels by total number of children under age six — a conservative estimate as it is unlikely that none of non-tested children were exposed to lead. We then applied this ratio to the number of children under age six in impacted housing units — another conservative assumption as lead exposure is generally higher in low income communities and communities of color. Assuming that 50% of lead exposure was due to unhealthy homes a low ratio, a total of 339 children under age six were exposed to lead due to bad landlords. Between 2013 and 2018 the Department of Housing Preservation and Development issued 673 housing court actions, a similar scale to what we identified We assumed that 20% of those required special education at excess costs of $9,369 annually , and all required medical costs at $663 annually for a total of $860,000.
Mold Exposure. We estimated the number of people exposed to mold by averaging annual number of mold related violations (identified via text search) from 2013 to 2017 and multiplying by average size of household in NYC to get total number of people exposed. Again, this is a conservative estimation and likely does not capture nearly the full universe of mold-related health impacts. We then calculated the odds ratio of developing Asthma, Allergic Rhinitis, and Acute Bronchitis with or without exposure to mold from Mudarri, 2016 to estimate number of cases due to mold exposure at home which resulted in 413 people with Allergic Rhinitis and 284 people with Asthma. We used annual costs for patients also from Mudarri, 2016 to estimate total costs. For updated Asthma costs estimate, we used data from a 2018 study . Total economic costs were estimated to be $2.6 million. Note that this likely vastly underestimates actual exposure to mold in NYC, including due to bad landlords, as we use violations issued as proof of mold, which would suggest that only 0.4% of New Yorkers are exposed to mold. We identified pest and heat and hot water problems through a textual search of HPD’s violations database.
Residents facing eviction actions also have to miss out on work because of dealing with evictions cases. A typical resident facing an eviction action will often spend at least two days in court , and possibly more depending on the details of the case.
How Much Does It Cost New Yorkers?
All costs are annual, using the most current data available.
Legal aid to tenants. Total funding for legal aid to tenants in FY 2017 was $181,300,000 . We assumed that 48% of cases requiring legal aid were due to poor landlord behavior. Total costs came up to $87 million annually.
New York City Housing Court Program. The latest NYC Housing Court personnel budget request is $32 million dollars . We assumed that 90% of the housing court’s time was spent on residential evictions and that 48% of these evictions were due to poor landlord behavior . Total costs came up to $13.8 million.
Emergency Shelter for the Homeless. There were approximately 58,958 people living in homeless shelters in July 2018 . 18% of current shelter residents reported losing their homes due to evictions, and we assumed that 48% of that number was due to poor landlord behavior — 5,094 people or 8.6% in total. We then divided the Department of Homeless Services’ contract budget by the total number of homeless and multiplied it by 8.6%. Total costs came up to $125 million. The likely amount of homelessness caused by bad landlords is likely greater than 18% for two reasons: first, many people make an intermediate stop at a friend’s or relative’s house after an eviction but before entering the shelter system, and second, many people may leave an apartment due to landlord harassment or unlivable conditions but before a formal judgement of eviction is ordered
Unsheltered Homeless. There are 3,675 unsheltered homeless in NYC in 2018, but most experts consider this to be an undercount . 12% are estimated to be due to evictions, 48% were due to poor landlord behavior. The cost per person for unsheltered persons is typically $31,000. Total costs came up to $6.9 million.
Supportive Housing. There are 32,000 supportive housing units in New York City currently . Forty percent are occupied by people entering from the shelter system. We again assumed a conservative estimate of 18% of these people were homeless because of evictions, 48% of which were because of bad landlord behavior. We estimate the public cost yearly operational subsidy cost at $17,000 from an interim assessment of NY/NY III agreement. Total costs came up to $19 million.
HPD’s Emergency Repair Program. From the Department of Housing Preservation and Development preliminary 2019 budget . This program is only used as a last resort for delinquent landlords. While a tax lien is imposed, costs are not typically recovered. Total costs came up to $34 million.
Housing violations costs. We assumed that each unique address and date record in the violations file reflected an inspection. We then divided the total budget for inspectors by the number of total inspections to get cost per inspection. The total budget for inspectors and number of total inspections conducted by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development preliminary 2019 budget . Costs came up to $11.4 million.
The Preservation Anti-Abandonment program. From the Department of Housing Preservation and Development preliminary 2019 budget . Total costs came up to $4.4 million.
Certificate of No Harassment Pilot Program. From the Department of Housing Preservation and Development preliminary 2019 budget . Total costs came up to $1 million.
Tenant Protection Unit, Division of Housing and Community Renewal, New York State. From proposed 2012-2013 Housing and Community Renewal proposed budget . Total costs came up to $1.8 million.
There were various limitations to our study. First, the evictions data we had was from 2013 to mid-2015 and may not fully reflect current trends (although the total number of evictions cases in recent years is very similar). Secondly, we had a geocode success rate of 94% for evictions, which means that not all evictions were included. Since we do not have access to comprehensive information on building conditions, we had to rely on violations data which is inherently biased towards residents who file a complaint and the ability of inspectors to access any given home. One example of the gap is that although we only have about 13,000 mold violations issued a year in New York City, some estimates suggest that nearly one in three homes in the U.S. have a mold problem. Taken together, the limitations likely underestimated the cost that bad landlords impose on New Yorkers.
Acknowledgements
Authored by
Additional Content and Support
- Ellis Calvin
- Senior Planner, RPA
- Christopher Jones
- Senior Vice President and Chief Planner, RPA
- Dani Simons
- Vice President for Strategic Communications, RPA
- Dave Zackin
- Graphic Designer, RPA
Produced With
- Marika Dias and Edward Josephson
- Legal Services NYC
- Yale Fox
- Juanita Lewis
- Community Voices Heard
- David Siscovick
- New York Academy of Medicine
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