Most rent-stabilized tenants make under $59K a year: report

Most New Yorkers who occupy rent-stabilized apartments make less than $58,950 per year, according to a new report from NYU’s Furman Center.

The profile of rent-stabilized tenants throws some cold water on sensational stories about wealthy tenants living high on low rents. The Furman Center’s study shows citywide median income for people in rent-stabilized apartments is $36,600.

In Manhattan, median income for rent-stabilized residents is $49,000, roughly half the yearly haul for households living in the borough’s unregulated housing, reports the New York Observer. The gap between monthly rent for market-rate and stabilized units is also widest in Manhattan: $1,235 compared with $228 in the outer boroughs.

The Furman Center report indicates that 45 percent of the city’s housing stock is regulated, making rent regulation the largest contributor to maintaining affordable housing stock in New York.

Some residents do manage to hold on to rent-stabilized apartments, despite exceeding the city’s income threshold of $200,000 per year.  As of 2010, about 22,600 rent-stabilized households made more than $199,000, as DNAinfo reported in April. [NYO] – Tom DiChristopher