NYCHA Ramping up Efforts To Evict Delinquent Tenants: Report

Activists Call On NYC Mayor And Housing Authority To Address To Jacob Riis Houses' Water And Gas Crisis — (Photo : Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) A maintenance worker cleans the grounds of the Jacob Riis Houses as residents and activists gather for a protest against the living conditions at the public housing unit on September 14, 2022 in New York City. Despite extensive city operated tests showing that the water does not contain arsenic, many residents still complain about cloudy and foul smelling water, a lack of repairs and other issues plaguing the 2,600 residents living there. Following the discovery of dangerous levels of arsenic in the tap water on the Friday evening of Labor Day weekend at the housing complex in the East Village, residents had been given bottled water and provided take away meals and were told not to drink the water. Tests now show that the initial water results were wrong, but many residents are still angry and plan to sue the New York City Housing Authority

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has recently ramped up its efforts to evict tenants who failed to pay their rent as it continuously shells out money to cover related services.

In the first quarter of 2024, NYCHA evicted 62 households. In comparison, the housing authority evicted a total of 58 households in all of 2023, as first reported by local publication The City.

NYCHA is currently only looking to evict tenants who racked up significant rent arrears as well as those who have committed violations of the housing authority's rules and regulations.

Most of the evicted tenants relied on a moratorium imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium allowed tenants to head off any eviction actions by filling out a form declaring they lost income due to the pandemic or claiming they may face health risks from moving. That moratorium expired in January 2022.

Why NYCHA Is Stepping up Eviction Efforts

The evictions come as NYCHA is strapped for cash. Firstly, its rent arrears hit $456 million as of May 31. That accounts for 63,000 NYCHA tenants who are behind on payments, with some failing to pay over a year's worth of rent.

"If NYCHA is trying to evict a tenant if somebody's not paying their rent that means it's costing NYCHA a fortune in lost rent money which means that probably somebody else deserves that apartment," Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, D-NY, said, as quoted by the publication. "NYCHA is bleeding money all over the place and they can't afford to have people not pay their rent."

In addition, the housing authority's rent collection dropped from 95% pre-pandemic to 60% post-pandemic.

Furthermore, the housing authority pays numerous related fees. That includes the moving costs of tenants and a fee for city marshals tasked with serving eviction notices and warrants of eviction. Last year, NYCHA paid out more than $750,000 in fees to city marshalls. This year, the housing authority has already shelled out $302,623 in fees to city marshalls. NYCHA is expected to pay out more than $1.2 million in fees by the end of 2024.

To further exacerbate the situation, the state legislature recently passed a bill to hike the fees marshals and sheriffs are allowed to charge for their services, raising it from $15 to $20. That bill is now awaiting a signature from Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-NY.