Evictions in New York City have risen to their highest level in years, a stark measure of how far the city’s affordability crisis has spread as rents hover near record highs. The pace has quickened enough that housing advocates now warn the recovery from the pandemic-era eviction pause has tipped into something harsher for the tenants least able to absorb a rent increase.
The trend matters well beyond the five boroughs. New York is the largest rental market in the country, and shifts in how many households lose their homes there tend to foreshadow strains showing up in other high-cost cities. For older renters in particular, an eviction late in life can be financially catastrophic, wiping out savings, disrupting access to medical care and making it far harder to secure new housing on a fixed income.
City marshals carried out 17,791 residential evictions in 2025, the most since 2018, and more than 8,000 tenants had already been removed in the first half of 2026, according to city court and marshal data. The figures represent completed evictions, the final step after a landlord wins a housing-court case and a marshal enforces the warrant. They do not capture the far larger number of tenants who receive eviction filings each year, many of whom move out before a marshal ever arrives.
Rents near records leave little cushion
The rebound in evictions is unfolding against a backdrop of rents that remain close to all-time highs across much of the city. When housing costs consume a large share of a household’s income, even a modest disruption, such as a missed paycheck, a medical bill or a benefits delay, can push a tenant into arrears. The gap between what tenants can pay and what landlords charge has become the central pressure driving cases into housing court.
The city’s Rent Guidelines Board, which sets allowable rent increases on roughly one million rent-stabilized apartments, has approved a string of increases in recent years as landlords cite rising taxes, insurance and maintenance costs. Those increases apply to some of the city’s most affordable regulated housing, and even single-digit percentage bumps can strain tenants whose incomes have not kept pace. Market-rate apartments, which face no such limits, have climbed faster still, leaving renters with fewer affordable options if they are forced to move.
Why the numbers are rising now
Part of the increase reflects a return to normal court operations after the pandemic. New York imposed one of the country’s longest eviction moratoriums, and when it lifted, a backlog of cases began moving through housing court. But researchers caution that the current numbers are not simply a delayed echo of the moratorium era. The Furman Center at New York University, which studies the city’s housing market, has documented how persistently high rents and a tight supply of affordable units keep pushing vulnerable households toward the edge, independent of the pandemic backlog.
A shortage of housing sits underneath it all. New York’s rental vacancy rate has fallen to some of its lowest levels in decades, which gives landlords the upper hand and leaves displaced tenants with few affordable places to land. When a household loses an apartment in a market this tight, the next lease is often more expensive than the one that was lost, and some tenants cycle through temporary arrangements or shelters rather than finding stable housing.
An outsized threat to older renters
The rise in evictions carries particular weight for older New Yorkers. Renters in their sixties, seventies and eighties are more likely to live on fixed incomes from Social Security and modest pensions, leaving little room to absorb a rent increase or a surprise expense. An eviction at that age can be far harder to recover from than for a younger tenant with rising earnings ahead, and the disruption can jeopardize continuity of medical care, prescriptions and community support that older adults depend on.
Legal protections exist, but they are uneven in practice. New York City has expanded a right-to-counsel program that provides free legal representation to low-income tenants facing eviction, and tenants with a lawyer are far more likely to remain in their homes. Demand, however, has outstripped the supply of attorneys in many neighborhoods, meaning some tenants still appear in housing court without representation. Rental-assistance programs and one-time emergency grants can also stave off an eviction, but they are often oversubscribed and slow to pay out.
What tenants can do
Housing advocates generally urge tenants to act at the first sign of trouble rather than waiting for a marshal’s notice. Responding to every court filing, showing up to every hearing and requesting an adjournment when more time is needed can all preserve options that vanish once a default judgment is entered. Contacting a legal-aid organization early increases the odds of qualifying for free representation. Applying for rental assistance before arrears pile up, and keeping written records of every rent payment and every communication with a landlord, can make the difference between a negotiated repayment plan and a warrant of eviction.
For the broader housing market, the 2025 and 2026 numbers are a warning sign. Evictions tend to lag the affordability squeeze that causes them, which means the record rents of recent years are only now showing up in court dockets. Unless rents ease or incomes catch up, the pressure that pushed New York City evictions to their highest level since 2018 is unlikely to fade quickly, and other expensive cities may find themselves watching similar numbers climb. For households already stretched thin, the safest response is to treat the trend as a reason to plan ahead, know their rights and line up help before an arrears notice ever turns into a court date.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed before publication.
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Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
