NYC affordable housing rent collections drop to 89% from 95% pre-pandemic; landlords, tenants debate cause—financial strain vs willful non-payment—as costs surge, threatening sector stability under Mamdani's 400,000-unit expansion plan.

Rent collections are down in New York — and no one's sure why

The issue has exposed thorny questions for the city’s affordable housing sector.At an apartment building in Brooklyn on Jan. 1, 2026, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signs three executive orders to confront the city’s housing crisis: revitalizing the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and establishing two new task forces to accelerate housing construction, get New Yorkers into homes faster, and increase supply by identifying suitable city-owned properties. | Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photograph...