Landlords in New York City blame government programs and slow eviction processes for declining rent collections, even as inflation and tenant finances dominate wider discussions. A property owner with decades of experience identifies two primary factors: the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) and the city’s one-shot deals—backstop payments for delinquent tenants—as the main reasons behind the decline.
The state’s ERAP, established to offset pandemic-related job losses, included a year-long rent freeze and provided checks covering up to 15 months of rent. The program’s structure, according to the landlord, encouraged a lasting pattern of nonpayment. “I told many legislators during ERAP [that] if they don’t require tenants to pay 30 percent of the rent, tenants would never pay again,” the landlord said. “But basically ERAP said, ‘We don’t care what you’re making or how long you were unemployed, we are paying 15 months of rent.’” ERAP checks came with a year-long rent freeze.
With housing courts backlogged anyway, desperate landlords took the money and braced for the worst. By this owner’s estimate, 60 percent of his tenants who got ERAP money were $5,000 behind on rent only six months later. “I told this to countless legislators: If people get used to not paying, they will never pay,” he said. Tenants with a pending ERAP application couldn’t be evicted and some might have been angling for a second check, but ERAP ran out of money and was eventually shut down.
One-shot deals fuel tenant debt cycles
The city’s one-shot deals, managed by the Human Resources Administration, have produced similar unintended consequences. While landlords occasionally recover back rent through these payments, unreimbursed legal fees reduce their profitability. The landlord observed that tenants frequently accumulate multiple one-shots, with some receiving two, three, or even four payments. Gothamist previously reported that three-quarters of one-shot applications were initially denied under the current administration, though many applicants repeatedly reapply until approval. These payouts cover full arrears, which encourages tenants to withhold rent while pursuing aid.
Expenditures on one-shot payments jumped from $102 million in fiscal 2022 to over $540 million in 2024, then rose modestly to $556 million the following year. Rent Guidelines Board chair Chantella Mitchell said last spring that the increase in one-shot payments was evidence that tenants were increasingly unable to pay rent and needed a rent freeze. The landlord, however, argued that the increase stems from tenants deliberately halting payments to qualify for assistance.
Legal battles leave landlords in deeper losses
Legal disputes further strain landlords’ finances. A tenant paying $658 per month stopped payments entirely, prompting the landlord to file eviction proceedings that dragged on for four years. The city eventually issued a $33,000 one-shot covering 50 months of unpaid rent, but legal fees alone reached $5,000–$6,000, leaving the landlord with roughly $550 per month after costs, less than the tenant’s original rent. In other cases, tenants never restart payments, forcing landlords to file repeated eviction actions and pursue additional one-shots. The landlord recently rejected a $6,000 settlement offer, insisting on taking the case to trial instead.
When tenants fail to qualify for one-shot payments, the financial losses become even more severe. Over the past two months, the landlord lost two tenants who each owed $100,000, with monthly rents of $2,300 and $3,900.
