NEW YORK (VINnews) — Tenant complaints filed through New York City’s 311 system have increased 25% this year compared with the same period in 2025, according to a New York Post analysis of city service-request data.

The Post reported that 573,656 renter complaints have been logged across the five boroughs so far this year, compared with 459,519 during the comparable period last year.

The increase comes as Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration has encouraged New Yorkers to report housing problems through 311. Landlords and other critics say the administration’s approach has encouraged some tenants to file complaints over minor or questionable issues, putting additional pressure on property owners.

The Post reported that Brooklyn has experienced the largest increase among the city’s boroughs. Complaints there rose 32%, from 128,337 during the comparable period last year to 169,675 this year. Queens saw complaints increase 29%.

Housing complaints are referred to the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which can contact landlords and send inspectors to investigate reported violations.

In one week, 67 calls involving clogged toilets were recorded, a 500% increase from the same period a year earlier, according to the Post’s analysis.

Landlords interviewed by the Post said some tenants are using the complaint system as leverage in disputes involving rent and building conditions.

“The apparatus of the government is geared to squeeze us,” said Lincoln Eccles, who owns a 15-unit building in Crown Heights.

Luis Altamiranda, president of the Esther consulting group, said the use of 311 complaints to pressure landlords existed before Mamdani took office but had increased substantially since then.

“What I see a lot of is you have tenants that have massive amount of arrears, and then they use the 311 complaints to create this sort of narrative that the landlord’s not doing his job,” Altamiranda said.

Mamdani has made housing enforcement a central part of his administration’s agenda. In April, he participated in an HPD inspection that was featured in a social media video. During the visit, he highlighted several violations and said no housing issue was too small to report.

The number of tenant complaints that week reached 17,768, compared with 10,877 during the same week in 2025, an increase of 63%, according to the Post. In Brooklyn, complaints increased from 3,223 to 5,499, a 70% increase.

The administration has also moved to expand housing inspections and enforcement. Cea Weaver, a tenant advocate who joined the Mamdani administration this year, said the city was increasing staffing for housing-code inspections and targeted enforcement.

“We’re expanding headcount to be able to do more housing code inspections and more targeted enforcement,” Weaver said during a July briefing.

When a tenant files a 311 complaint, HPD can contact the landlord. If the issue is not resolved, the agency can send an inspector to the apartment and issue a violation when a housing-code violation is found.

Uncorrected violations can remain open and lead to further enforcement. In cases involving serious and persistent building-wide violations, the city can pursue court action and, under existing programs, seek changes in building management or ownership.

Some property owners say the system is being abused.

Youssef Azour, a New York City property owner, told the Post that he had never experienced such a level of complaints during his 30 years in the real estate business.

“It’s a disaster,” Azour said.

Other landlords told the Post they had received complaints over issues they considered minor, including a lack of heat during the summer and the color of paint on a wall.

Tenant advocates, however, say residents should be able to report housing problems and that stronger enforcement is needed to ensure landlords maintain safe and habitable apartments.

Mamdani’s administration has argued for greater tenant protections while pursuing an expanded housing agenda. The mayor has also moved to speed up housing-related court proceedings, saying tenants can wait weeks or months for cases to be heard.

The debate over 311 complaints is part of a larger fight over Mamdani’s housing policies, with tenant advocates calling for stronger enforcement and landlords warning that increased complaints and inspections could create additional financial and legal pressure on property owners.

Ann Korchak, board president of Small Property Owners of New York, said false or repeated complaints can make it more difficult to identify legitimate housing problems.

“A fair and effective housing enforcement system should ensure that property owners are given reasonable opportunity to correct legitimate violations and weed out bogus tenant complaints,” Korchak said.