The rising cost of keeping New York’s affordable housing afloat has reached crisis levels.
A new report from Enterprise Community Partners and the National Equity Fund found operating costs for nearly 40,000 government-funded apartments in the state surged about 40 percent since 2017. Insurance premiums more than doubled in that period, a spike that could jeopardize long-term affordability, Gothamist reported.
The analysis covered 428 developments comprising 37,130 income-restricted units that rely on public subsidies to cap rents. Property and liability insurance proved the most volatile expense, climbing so fast that one policy expert likened it to “a runaway train for New York.”
Rent collections also declined, dropping from roughly 95 to 91 percent between 2017 and 2024, resulting in lost revenue and growing expenses.
For the nonprofit landlords that dominate this sector (roughly two-thirds of owners), the squeeze is severe. Kieran Harrington, chief executive officer of RiseBoro — which manages more than 4,000 affordable units citywide — said his group’s insurance costs ballooned from about $5 million in 2024 to $11.3 million this year. The organization is deferring maintenance and weighing cuts to resident services to stay afloat.
Enterprise’s Patrick Boyle, who helped author the study, said raising rents isn’t an option for deeply affordable properties. Instead, he urged city and state officials to step in with funding streams for repairs, expanded rental assistance programs like CityFHEPS and collective insurance strategies to counter market volatility.
That recommendation echoes a broader debate in this year’s mayoral race, where candidates have seized on affordability — and landlords’ cost burdens — as defining issues.
Democratic nominee Assembly member Zohran Mamdani has championed a landlord insurance collective known as Milford Street, seeded with $2 million in state support, as a model for stabilizing expenses. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent, has pushed for longer-term subsidies, while Republican Curtis Sliwa has focused on rolling back tenant protections.
Behind the political rhetoric lies a stark math problem: with costs outpacing revenues, nonprofit operators face the prospect of losing buildings that anchor the city’s affordable stock, threatening tenants.
As Boyle put it, “We don’t want to exacerbate a housing instability crisis, a homelessness crisis and a cost of living crisis in New York.”
— Holden Walter-Warner
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