With the eviction moratorium ending, landlords are now filing their eviction notices on tenants who owe back rent, and data shows how many have been filed in each county.
Data was developed thanks to advocacy groups and press that were interested in the numbers.
There have been fewer filings throughout the pandemic, with 262,300 statewide filed in 2019.
Westchester has the highest number of evictions filed since the pandemic began compared to any other region in the state at 6,500.
Lower Hudson Valley County had 2,183 filed just in 2021, a higher number than Nassau or Suffolk, which have much higher populations.
Jason Mays, director of litigation at the legal aid nonprofit Hudson Valley Justice Center, says the only reason there were less filings in 2020 was due to the moratorium and that the number of households owing back rent is much higher than the number of filed evictions.
In total, over $1.75 billion in rent is owed in New York State.
The state has tried to help lessen the burden with the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, but that had a slow roll out before the moratorium was up.
Data from 2019 showed that over half the renters in Westchester County spent 30% of their income on rent and 28% spend half of their income on rent.
Over half of Westchester’s eviction filings were out of Yonkers.
Advocates worry for residents due to the moratorium being extended, but the burden to show proof of lost earnings now being an option for landlords when bringing their tenants to court.
As Westchester landlords move ahead with eviction filings with the court, advocates also worry that 90% of landlords have legal representation while only around 10% of tenants have legal representation.
The following counties and their number of eviction filings so far:
- Bronx: 10,484
- Kings: 7,886
- New York: 6,130
- Queens: 5,532
- Westchester: 2,183
- Suffolk: 1,847
- Monroe: 1,504
- Erie: 1,402
- Nassau: 1,229
- Richmond: 749
- Oneida: 472
- Broome: 431
- Orange: 385
- Dutchess: 313
- Rockland: 113
- Sullivan 52
- Putnam: 21
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