NYC Evictions Hit Seven-Year High as Courts Clear Backlog

New York City evictions are back to pre-pandemic levels as landlords force delinquent tenants out at the fastest clip since 2018.

City marshals have removed more than 11,200 households so far this year — averaging 1,500 a month — Gothamist reported, using data from the Department of Investigations. That pace is higher than any year since 2018, when monthly evictions peaked at about 1,666 per month.

There are approximately 2.2 million rental units in the city.

The jump in evictions comes as housing courts grind through a backlog of cases filed after the pandemic moratorium lifted in 2022. The easing of clogged housing courts appears to be fueling the spike in evictions.

Ann Korchak of Small Property Owners of New York argued that eviction is “a last resort,” but necessary to keep buildings solvent.

The ones profiting the most from the evictions may be city marshals: 29 officers brought in nearly $20.5 million combined last year, up from $14 million in 2019.

Since 2021, landlords have filed nearly half a million eviction cases citywide. The greatest share of those have been in the Bronx, where more than 9 percent of households received court notices last year. Fewer than 10 percent of filings result in a formal eviction order, but the process can take months or years to resolve, leaving tenants and landlords in limbo.

Amid the rise in eviction actions this year, eviction filings have slowed. Landlords have launched about 9,500 cases a month in 2025, down from 10,500 over the same period last year.

Analysts say legal protections like the city’s right-to-counsel program have blunted the damage for tenants, but those safety nets remain uneven. Many households earn just above income thresholds, while others who qualify can’t get help fast enough.

“One financial shock can be the precipitating factor for an eviction case,” Peter Hepburn of Princeton’s Eviction Lab told Gothamist.

The Robin Hood Foundation warned last month that one in four low-income New Yorkers can’t reliably cover rent, leaving many “one financial shock” away from eviction. Housing advocates say the ripple effects extend far beyond individual families, destabilizing schools, employers and neighborhoods, not to mention their landlords.

— Holden Walter-Warner