Report: Hundreds of Vacant NYC Public Housing Units ‘Taken Over’ by Squatters

A new report from New York City’s Department of Investigation reveals that vacant apartments in buildings operated by the New York City Housing Authority are creating safety risks and opportunities for squatters and trespassers to use them, reports Jeanmarie Evelly in City Limits. “The report, published Tuesday, calls for NYCHA to keep better tabs on its vacant homes, the majority of which are awaiting—often extensive, and legally required—remediation work after the prior tenant moved out and before they can be rented again,” Evelly adds. 

The report found over 6,800 unoccupied units as of January (including 751 apartments with tenants waiting to move in). Vacancies in NYCHA properties have more than doubled since 2022, while 165,000 applicants are on the agency’s wait list. “Investigators issued several recommendations, including that the housing authority conduct monthly inspections of empty units—to ‘check for signs of unauthorized occupants’—and that it look into upgrading its locks to avoid multiple vacant apartments being accessible via the same key, as is NYCHA’s current practice.”

According to NYCHA, vacancies often result from the need to make extensive renovations before units can be leased out when a prior tenant leaves. “That frequently includes costly lead paint and asbestos abatement—required by local law and under NYCHA’s federal monitorship—work which takes an average of four to six months to complete, officials have said. In general, it takes the housing authority an average of 326 days to “turnaround” a vacant apartment for new occupancy, according to the most recent public data.”