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nsurance premiums for rent‑stabilized apartments in New York City have surged 150 % from 2019 to 2025, while maintenance and utility costs have climbed 39 % and 31 % respectively. These hikes are squeezing the 16,600 buildings that depend almost entirely on stabilized rents for operating income.

    Mayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to freeze rents for these units could force landlords to cut back on essential repairs, worsening living conditions. The problem is most acute in pre‑1974 buildings, where at least 90 % of units are stabilized. These structures account for nearly half of the city’s affordable private housing and hold 456,000 of the 1 million rent‑stabilized apartments—about 47 % of the stock.

    The 456,000 units are heavily concentrated in northern Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn’s Flatbush and Midwood neighborhoods. A 2024 brief from the New York Housing Conference warned that soaring insurance premiums pose an “alarming risk” to affordable housing, citing natural disasters, market shifts, and inflation as drivers. The brief also noted a shrinking pool of insurers willing to cover multifamily properties, with evidence of discrimination against buildings in New York City and the Bronx.

    Because of these financial pressures, landlords are deferring maintenance. The NYU Furman Center report found that owners are more likely to postpone repairs or reallocate funds rather than cut costs, a pattern that aligns with a 47 % rise in building‑code violations among the deeply affordable units between early 2021 and 2025. Leaks, mold, and other hazardous infractions have increased sharply in these aging, stabilized buildings.

    Despite the Adams administration’s push to add new affordable housing, the maintenance of the existing stabilized stock remains critical. These buildings provide a substantial share of the city’s low‑cost private rentals and are essential to preserving affordability.