Hundreds of vacant apartments managed by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) were illegally occupied between 2022 and 2025, according to a report from the city’s Department of Investigation (DOI). The findings come as more than 165,000 households remain on NYCHA’s waiting list for public housing.
The DOI found that NYCHA did not consistently verify whether units listed as vacant were actually empty. During the period from January 2022 to May 2025, the number of units awaiting renovation increased significantly—from about 2,800 to 6,700—providing an opportunity for unauthorized individuals to move in without detection.
A key factor identified by investigators was NYCHA’s use of identical locks on vacant apartments within entire developments. This practice made it easier for squatters to access multiple units. The DOI recommended that NYCHA install unique locks and conduct regular inspections, stating that the current system “poses an unacceptable risk” of illegal occupancy.
Some of these illegally occupied apartments became sites for drug storage or gang activity. In one instance, federal prosecutors charged twelve people with running an open-air drug market at Johnson Houses in East Harlem, allegedly using empty NYCHA apartments as stash locations. Another case involved police finding a man fatally shot inside a vacant apartment at Castle Hill Houses in the Bronx in 2023; authorities reported that the victim had numerous prior arrests and suspected gang connections.
NYCHA began addressing the issue systematically in 2023 by working with the New York Police Department (NYPD) to remove squatters from its approximately 160,000-unit portfolio. By last year, this effort resulted in reclaiming 635 apartments and making 81 arrests related to trespassing and drug offenses.
Despite these steps, changes to internal procedures were slow. Staff only received clear guidance on handling suspected squatters after September 2024. Now employees are instructed to notify police when trespassing may threaten public safety and have started tracking potentially illegally occupied units.
The DOI attributed part of the problem to lengthy delays in preparing vacant apartments for new tenants—often due to necessary renovations such as lead paint or asbestos removal—and chronic funding shortages that force NYCHA to prioritize repairs in already-occupied homes.
NYCHA has agreed to implement DOI’s recommendations by installing unique locks and beginning monthly inspections of vacant units awaiting renovation. However, those inspections are not scheduled to start until another six months from now.
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