Mayor Carmella's housing crisis

Rent in Troy now costs more than most renters earn enough to pay. The typical Troy renter household can afford about $1,028 a month. The typical apartment for rent costs about $1,620 once you add utilities. More than half of Troy renters already pay too much of their income for rent.

Mayor Carmella Mantello’s answer is more new apartments. Since she took office, the city’s development authority has approved tax breaks for more than 500 new apartments, most of them at market rate. When the City Council passed a law to protect renters already here, she vetoed it. She said the real answer is “increasing supply.”

Troy already has empty apartments. The share of rentals sitting empty rose from about 5% to about 8%. Two of every three ask $1,000 a month or more.

• What the typical Troy renter can afford

  $1,028

  A month, with utilities

• Typical apartment for rent

  $1,620

  A month, with about $150 of utilities

• Empty apartments asking $1,000 or more

  2 in 3

  Up from about 1 in 4

• People counted homeless

  419

  January 2025, up from 199 in 2019

1. 2024

   1. March 27

      Tax-break process starts for 90 market-rate apartments on Gurley Avenue.See the record — Tax-break process starts for 90 market-rate apartments on Gurley Avenue.

   2. July 16

      The mayor breaks ground with the governor on 87 market-rate apartments at City Station North.See the record — The mayor breaks ground with the governor on 87 market-rate apartments at City Station North.

   3. November 1

      Tax break approved for 71 apartments at 1818 Fifth Avenue.See the record — Tax break approved for 71 apartments at 1818 Fifth Avenue.

2. 2025

   2026

   1. March 5

      The council passes Good Cause Eviction, 7 to 0.See the record — The council passes Good Cause Eviction, 7 to 0.

   2. March 18

      The mayor vetoes it.See the record — The mayor vetoes it.

   3. April 9

      The council overrides her veto, 7 to 0.See the record — The council overrides her veto, 7 to 0.

   4. April 17

      Tax-break process starts for 193 market-rate apartments at the old Uncle Sam Garage.See the record — Tax-break process starts for 193 market-rate apartments at the old Uncle Sam Garage.

Rent has outrun what Troy renters earn

A common rule is that rent and utilities should take no more than 30% of what a household earns. The typical Troy renter household earns $41,129 a year. That covers about $1,028 a month.

The typical asking rent for a Troy apartment was $930 in January 2018. By September 2026 it was $1,473, before utilities. Census figures put Troy utilities at about $150 a month, so the real cost is about $1,620. That is about $590 a month more than the typical renter can pay.

More than half of Troy renter households now pay 30% or more of their income on rent. About 1 in 4 pay half or more. On one night in January 2025, 419 people were counted homeless in Troy and Rensselaer County. In 2019 it was 199.

See all the current numbers on our Troy housing page, and check what rent your income can cover.

Troy’s empty apartments are the ones people can’t afford

The share of Troy rentals sitting empty rose from about 5% to about 8%. The state’s share is about 4%.

Of the empty Troy apartments for rent, two of every three ask $1,000 a month or more before utilities. Five years earlier it was about 1 in 4.

She backs more apartments at market rate, with tax breaks

When a developer asks for a tax break in Troy, the request goes to the city’s development authority. For 2024 to 2026, its minutes show these apartment projects moving ahead:

Most of the new apartments with tax breaks are at market rate

Apartments in projects the Troy Industrial Development Authority moved ahead, March 2024 to July 2026

1. Old Uncle Sam Garage, Fourth Street market rate

   193

2. Gurley Avenue market rate, 18 for workers

   90

3. 74 New Turnpike Road cottages for ages 55 and up

   86

4. 1818 Fifth Avenue a quarter affordable

   71

5. 39-45 Congress Street for incomes at 60 to 80% of area median

   71

6. 200 Broadway market rate

   27

Show the numbers

Category	Apartments
Old Uncle Sam Garage, Fourth Street market rate	193
Gurley Avenue market rate, 18 for workers	90
74 New Turnpike Road cottages for ages 55 and up	86
1818 Fifth Avenue a quarter affordable	71
39-45 Congress Street for incomes at 60 to 80% of area median	71
200 Broadway market rate	27

For 1818 Fifth Avenue, the authority’s own figures show full taxes of $244,675 in 2026. The project pays $15,116. For the first five years, the new building’s value is not taxed at all.

In 2024 the mayor broke ground with the governor on 87 market-rate apartments at City Station North. She said:

This is an area that fits the need for housing.

She vetoed the law that protects renters already here

Good Cause Eviction means a landlord needs a reason to evict you, like unpaid rent or breaking the lease. It also treats a rent increase of more than 10% a year as unreasonable. On March 5, 2026, the City Council passed it, 7 to 0. The mayor asked the council to wait for a study. On March 18 she vetoed it.

On why:

Ultimately, the long-term solution to housing affordability is increasing supply.

On April 9, the council overrode her veto, 7 to 0. That night she said:

Troy has led the region in bringing new housing, of all categories, to the market… Good Cause Eviction will discourage private sector investment.

Eight days later, the development authority started the tax-break process for 193 more market-rate apartments at the old Uncle Sam Garage.

What the record shows

Most Troy renters can’t afford the typical apartment for rent. Troy’s empty rentals rose to about 8%, and two of every three ask $1,000 a month or more. Since 2024, the city’s development authority has moved more than 500 new apartments ahead with tax breaks, most at market rate. The mayor calls new supply the answer. When the council passed a law to protect the renters already here, she vetoed it, and the council overrode her 7 to 0.