Rent-Stabilized Buildings With the Most Violations

New York City’s rent-stabilized apartments are supposed to be a lifeline, affordable housing protected by law for roughly one million households across the five boroughs. But what happens when the buildings themselves become unlivable?

We spent months cross-referencing public data from the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and the Department of Buildings (DOB) to answer a straightforward question: Are rent-stabilized buildings in NYC being neglected at higher rates than their market-rate counterparts? The answer, backed by tens of thousands of violation records, is a resounding yes.

This investigation, part of our broader 2026 NYC Building Violations Data Report, exposes the rent-stabilized buildings with the most open violations, identifies the landlords responsible, and traces the systemic patterns connecting building deterioration to tenant displacement. If you live in a rent-stabilized apartment in NYC, or you care about housing justice in this city, this is data you need to see.

01 · THE DATAThe Data — What We Found

Let’s start with the numbers, because they’re damning.

We analyzed 846,703 rent-stabilized units across 44,219 buildings registered with DHCR as of January 2026. We then cross-referenced those buildings against HPD’s open violations database and DOB records to build a comprehensive picture of code enforcement activity in rent-regulated housing.

Here’s what stood out:

• 62.4% of rent-stabilized buildings in our dataset had at least one open HPD violation at the time of analysis. For market-rate buildings of comparable age and size, that figure dropped to 38.1%.
• The average rent-stabilized building carried 7.3 open violations, compared to 3.1 for market-rate buildings, more than double.
• Among buildings with 20+ open violations, rent-stabilized properties outnumbered market-rate ones by a ratio of nearly 4 to 1.
• Class C violations, the most severe, classified as “immediately hazardous”, were present in 29.8% of rent-stabilized buildings versus 14.2% of market-rate buildings.

These aren’t marginal differences. They point to a structural pattern of neglect concentrated in the housing stock that serves NYC’s most economically vulnerable tenants.

We also found that buildings with higher concentrations of rent-stabilized units tended to have more violations per unit. Buildings where 75% or more of units were rent-stabilized averaged 9.6 open violations, compared to 5.1 for buildings where stabilized units made up less than 25% of the total. The correlation isn’t subtle, it’s a straight line.

For a deeper look at violation trends across all NYC housing, see our complete 2026 data report.

02 · THE 50The 50 Rent-Stabilized Buildings With the Most Open Violations

Below is a snapshot of the 10 worst-offending buildings from our full ranked list of 50. These buildings represent the most egregious concentrations of open HPD violations in rent-stabilized housing across New York City.

The full list of 50 buildings, including owner details, violation histories, and tenant complaint records, is available in our downloadable dataset.

What Stands Out

A few things jump off the page. First, the Bronx dominates. Four of the top 10 buildings are in the Bronx, and 19 of the top 50 are located there. Second, the Class C violation counts are staggering. At 1520 Sedgwick Ave, 97 immediately hazardous conditions remain unresolved, we’re talking lead paint, no heat, vermin infestations, and structural failures.

Third, look at the ownership. Many of these buildings are held by LLCs, limited liability companies that can obscure the identities of beneficial owners. Several of the names above also appear on our 2026 Worst Landlord Watchlist, which tracks the most prolific violators across all building types.

The Class B violations (hazardous) consistently outnumber every other category, often by wide margins. These include conditions like broken or defective plaster, inadequate lighting in public areas, and non-functioning smoke detectors, the kind of chronic disrepair that makes daily life miserable but rarely makes headlines.

03 · THE PATTERNThe Pattern — Deregulation and Deterioration

Here’s where the data starts telling a story that goes beyond negligence. For some landlords, building deterioration isn’t an accident, it’s a strategy.

The playbook works like this: A landlord acquires a rent-stabilized building, then systematically withholds maintenance. Conditions worsen. Tenants start leaving, first one or two, then a trickle becomes a flood. Once enough stabilized tenants vacate, the landlord can renovate vacant units, raise rents, and in some cases, push units out of stabilization entirely. The building gets repositioned. Long-term tenants lose their homes.

This isn’t speculation. Housing court records, tenant testimony, and now our violation data all point in the same direction. Buildings that showed sudden spikes in open violations often experienced significant tenant turnover within 18 to 24 months. In our dataset, buildings that saw a 50% or greater increase in open violations over a two-year period had, on average, 31% higher vacancy rates than comparable rent-stabilized properties.

The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019 was supposed to close the loopholes that made this strategy profitable. The law eliminated vacancy decontrol, the mechanism that allowed landlords to deregulate apartments once rents hit a certain threshold after a tenant left. It also tightened rules around Major Capital Improvements (MCIs) and Individual Apartment Improvements (IAIs), which landlords had used to justify permanent rent increases.

But enforcement has lagged behind legislation. DHCR, the agency responsible for policing rent stabilization, remains chronically understaffed. And while the 2019 law removed the financial incentive for deregulation through vacancy, it didn’t eliminate the incentive to push out lower-paying tenants and replace them with higher-paying ones, even within the stabilized framework.

Some of the landlords on our top-50 list acquired their buildings after 2019, which suggests that even with HSTPA in place, neglect-as-displacement remains a viable, if illegal, approach for bad actors in the NYC rental market.

04 · BOROUGH BREAKDOWNBorough Breakdown

The distribution of violations across NYC’s boroughs isn’t random. Geography, housing stock age, landlord concentration, and enforcement patterns all play a role.

The Bronx

The Bronx leads the city in virtually every metric we tracked. It accounts for 34% of all open HPD violations in rent-stabilized buildings, even though housing roughly 24% of the city’s stabilized units. Neighborhoods like Highbridge, Fordham, and Mott Haven are particularly hard-hit, with clusters of buildings carrying 50+ open violations each. The Bronx is also where we found the highest average Class C violation count per building: 3.8, compared to the citywide average of 2.1.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn came in second, with 26% of open violations in rent-stabilized housing. Flatbush, Crown Heights, and Brighton Beach had the densest concentrations. What’s notable in Brooklyn is the speed of change, several buildings that appeared on HPD’s clean records just three years ago now carry 40+ violations, correlating with ownership transfers to investment-focused LLCs.

Manhattan

Manhattan accounts for 21% of violations, with Washington Heights, Harlem, and the Lower East Side leading the pack. Upper Manhattan, in particular, has a deeply entrenched pattern: aging pre-war buildings with large numbers of stabilized units and landlords who’ve deferred maintenance for decades. Some of these buildings have had open violations continuously since the early 2010s.

Queens

Queens represents 14% of violations in our dataset, with hotspots in Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Ridgewood, and Forest Hills. Queens also showed the highest rate of unreported conditions, based on the gap between 311 complaint volumes and official HPD inspection outcomes, we estimate that a significant number of violations in Queens rent-stabilized buildings go unrecorded because tenants don’t file formal complaints. Language barriers and immigration-related fears likely contribute to underreporting in some neighborhoods. Our analysis of 311 housing complaint data explores this dynamic in more depth.

Staten Island

Staten Island has the fewest rent-stabilized buildings by a wide margin, and accordingly, it accounts for just 5% of violations in our dataset. But the buildings that are stabilized and in violation tend to be in serious disrepair. Two Staten Island properties made the top 50 list, both with over 100 open violations each.

05 · RECENT ENFORCEMENTRecent Enforcement Actions

The good news, to the extent there is any, is that enforcement agencies are starting to treat rent-stabilized building neglect as something more than routine code enforcement.

AG Letitia James and Landlord Prosecutions

New York Attorney General Letitia James has ramped up action against landlords who systematically neglect rent-stabilized properties. In one high-profile case, her office secured a $672,000 settlement against a Brooklyn-based landlord group that had allowed hazardous conditions, including widespread lead paint exposure and persistent lack of heat, to persist across a portfolio of 11 rent-stabilized buildings. The settlement included mandatory remediation timelines and independent monitoring.

The AG’s Tenant Protection Unit has opened investigations into several other ownership groups that appear on our top-50 list, though we can’t disclose which ones until those investigations become public.

HPD Emergency Repair Program

HPD’s Emergency Repair Program (ERP) authorizes the city to step in and make critical repairs when landlords refuse to act, then bill the landlord for the cost, with liens placed on the property. In 2025, HPD executed emergency repairs at over 3,200 rent-stabilized buildings, a 17% increase from 2024. The most common ERP interventions involved heating system failures, lead paint remediation, and structural hazards.

While the ERP is a critical safety net, it’s fundamentally reactive. The city fixes the immediate problem, but the underlying neglect continues. Many of the buildings that received ERP interventions in 2024 required them again in 2025, a revolving door that costs taxpayers millions while landlords dodge their obligations.

For a full breakdown of how violation fines work in NYC, including the penalties landlords face (and often don’t pay), see our complete NYC building violation fine schedule.

06 · WHAT RENTSTABILIZEDWhat Rent-Stabilized Tenants Can Do

Data is only useful if it leads to action. If you’re a rent-stabilized tenant dealing with unresolved violations, here’s what you can do, and what you should know.

Know Your Rights

• Your landlord is legally obligated to maintain your apartment and building in habitable condition. This isn’t optional, it’s the warranty of habitability under NYC Housing Maintenance Code and New York Real Property Law §235-b.
• Rent-stabilized tenants cannot be evicted for complaining about conditions. Retaliatory eviction is illegal under New York Real Property Law §223-b.
• You have the right to a rent reduction if your landlord fails to maintain required services. DHCR can order rent reductions for both individual apartments and entire buildings.

File Complaints, And Document Everything

1. Call 311 or use the 311 app to report housing conditions. Every call generates a complaint number and triggers an HPD inspection. Be specific: “No heat in apartment 4B since January 12” is far more actionable than “building is in bad shape.”
2. File with HPD online at the HPD complaint portal. You can track inspection results and violation issuance.
3. File a service reduction complaint with DHCR if your landlord isn’t providing required services (heat, hot water, elevator service, etc.). If DHCR rules in your favor, your rent gets reduced until the services are restored.
4. Take photos, keep receipts, save texts and emails. If your case goes to housing court or DHCR, documentation is everything.

Get Legal Help

Free and low-cost legal resources for rent-stabilized tenants include:

• Housing Court Help Centers, available in every borough
• Legal Aid Society, represents tenants in housing court and DHCR proceedings
• Met Council on Housing, tenant hotline at (212) 979-0611
• Right to Counsel NYC, if you’re in a covered zip code, you may qualify for a free attorney in eviction proceedings

Organize With Your Neighbors

Individual complaints matter. Collective action matters more. Tenant associations have legal standing under NYC law and can negotiate directly with landlords, file group complaints, and access resources that individual tenants can’t. If your building doesn’t have a tenant association, consider starting one. Organizations like the Met Council on Housing and the Housing Rights Initiative can help you get organized.

07 · METHODOLOGYMethodology

Transparency matters, so here’s exactly how we built this investigation.

Data Sources

• DHCR Rent Stabilization Registration Data, We used the most recent publicly available DHCR registration lists (2025 cycle) to identify rent-stabilized buildings and unit counts across NYC.
• HPD Violations Database, We pulled all open HPD violations as of January 15, 2026, including violation class (A, B, C), date issued, and current status.
• DOB Violations and Complaints, We supplemented HPD data with DOB records to capture building-wide structural and safety violations not always reflected in HPD filings.
• NYC 311 Complaint Data, We used 311 housing complaint records (2023–2025) to identify underreporting patterns and cross-check HPD inspection activity.

Analysis

We matched DHCR-registered buildings to HPD and DOB records using BBL (Borough-Block-Lot) numbers, the standard NYC property identifier. Buildings were ranked by total open HPD violations, with secondary sorting by Class C violation count. We excluded buildings with fewer than 6 residential units to focus on multi-family housing stock.

Market-rate comparison figures were generated by analyzing a control group of non-DHCR-registered buildings of similar age (built before 1974), size (6+ units), and geographic distribution.

Limitations

No dataset is perfect. DHCR registration lists can lag, some buildings that recently entered or exited stabilization may be misclassified. HPD violation records reflect issued violations, not necessarily all existing conditions: buildings with less engaged tenants (or more intimidated ones) will appear cleaner than they actually are. Our analysis captures a point-in-time snapshot: violation counts fluctuate as landlords address some issues and new violations are issued.

Even though these limitations, the scale of the dataset, over 44,000 buildings and 846,000 units, gives us high confidence in the trends and patterns reported here.

This investigation is part of ViolationWatch.NYC’s ongoing commitment to data-driven housing accountability. If you have information about conditions in a rent-stabilized building, or if your building appears on our list and you’d like to share your experience, contact us at [email protected].

08 · FREQUENTLY ASKEDFrequently Asked Questions

How many rent-stabilized buildings in NYC have open violations?

According to a 2026 analysis of over 44,000 DHCR-registered buildings, 62.4% of rent-stabilized buildings in NYC had at least one open HPD violation—compared to just 38.1% for market-rate buildings of comparable age and size. The average rent-stabilized building carried 7.3 open violations, more than double the market-rate average.

Why do rent-stabilized apartments in NYC have more violations than market-rate units?

Data shows a structural pattern of landlord neglect concentrated in rent-stabilized housing. Some landlords deliberately withhold maintenance to push tenants out, enabling rent increases or unit repositioning. Limited rent revenue, aging building stock, and chronic under-enforcement by agencies like DHCR also contribute to the higher violation rates in stabilized buildings.

What can rent-stabilized tenants do about unresolved building violations in NYC?

Tenants should call 311 or use the HPD online complaint portal to report conditions, which triggers an official inspection. They can also file a service reduction complaint with DHCR to get a rent reduction until issues are fixed. Documenting everything—photos, emails, receipts—is critical for housing court or DHCR proceedings.

Which NYC borough has the most rent-stabilized apartment violations?

The Bronx leads the city, accounting for 34% of all open HPD violations in rent-stabilized buildings despite housing only 24% of stabilized units. Neighborhoods like Highbridge, Fordham, and Mott Haven are especially hard-hit. Brooklyn ranks second at 26%, followed by Manhattan at 21%, Queens at 14%, and Staten Island at 5%.

Can a landlord evict a rent-stabilized tenant for reporting violations in NYC?

No. Retaliatory eviction is illegal under New York Real Property Law §223-b. Rent-stabilized tenants are legally protected from eviction for filing complaints about building conditions. Tenants who face retaliation can seek free legal help through organizations like the Legal Aid Society, Met Council on Housing, or Right to Counsel NYC.

How do I check if my NYC rent-stabilized building has open HPD violations?

You can search HPD’s online violations database using your building’s address or Borough-Block-Lot (BBL) number to view all open violations, including their severity class. NYC’s 311 portal also lets you track complaint and inspection history. Reviewing these records helps tenants understand their building’s condition and strengthen any formal complaints.

Catch these signals before they become fines

Every article on ViolationWatch points to the same underlying playbook: the cheapest violation is the one caught in the first 24 hours. Our multi-signal detection engine surfaces violations, complaints, hearing schedules, and filing deadlines across DOB, HPD, ECB, OATH, FDNY, DOHMH, DEP, DOT, 311 and more — so you catch them before the fine arrives.

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