MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS — Morningside Heights had one of the highest turnover rate for rent-stabilized tenants in the entire city, according to a report published by the New York City Independent Budget Office Monday.
From 2010 through 2015, about 17 percent of 6,733 rent-stabilized apartments built in Morningside Heights before 1974 changed hands, the study found — compared to the average turnover rate of 11 percent in similar units citywide.
Apartments built prior to 1974 make up 94 percent of all the rent-stabilized units in the neighborhood, according to the data.
Rent-stabilized apartments are a considered a catch for New York City tenants because they typically rent at below-market rates and come with the right to lease renewal.
Neighborhoods with the highest rate of renters moving out of rent-stabilized apartments, regardless of when their apartments were created, include:
► Battery Park City/Lower Manhattan (32 percent turnover of 5,798 units)
► New Dorp/Midland Beach on Staten Island (28 percent turnover of 152 units)
► Douglas Manor-Douglaston/Little Neck in Queens (25 percent turnover of 461 units)
New York City's rent stabilization system, which was enacted in 1969 as a way of protecting tenants from steep rent increases, covers the majority of apartments in buildings that were constructed before 1974 with six or more units, and apartments in some buildings with three or more units that were built or renovated with special tax benefits since 1974.
According to the New York City Rent Guidelines Board, roughly one million city apartments were covered by rent stabilization as of September 2016.
While landlords can only increase an existing tenant's rent by 2 percent when they sign a new two-year lease, they can hike the rent by roughly 20 percent and raise it by a fraction of the cost of upgrades when a tenant moves out. A neighborhood where rent-stabilized apartments are frequently vacated, the average rent will rise.
The IBO analysis looked at tenant information for 986,807 rent-stabilized apartments that were registered by their landlords with New York State Homes and Community Renewal, a government agency charged with preserving affordable housing. The study compared the names of primary tenants between years to determine if an apartment had changed hands.
Find the tenant turnover rates for your neighborhood using the IBO's interactive map below:
Key: white indicates a rate of 0-10%; green a rate of 11-12%; teal 13-15%; and blue 16-23%
