With record-breaking apartment sale prices and a tight rental market, it’s a tough time to be a tenant in some parts of New York City.

In the South Bronx, financial counselor Pedro Salazar says the majority of his clients, including many single mothers, at the Phipps Neighborhoods Financial Empowerment Center now seek help with back rent. Salazar says that some landlords are now unwilling to settle rent arrears out of court, and are hauling clients into court for smaller amounts of back rent than in the past.

“Landlords are quick to take legal action,” said Salazar.

Attorneys also see an uptick in tenant struggles. Bankruptcy lawyer David Shaev said that even tenants who are current on their rent are having difficulty renewing leases. Tenant attorney William Gribben is getting more calls from renters who faced an emergency and now can’t pay.

A new Harvard University study lists New York among 10 cities where on average about half of households earning $45,000 to $75,000 have disproportionately high housing costs, forcing renters to forgo meals, medical care and other essentials.

The conversion boom that’s putting pressure on many rental tenants is leading to a lottery-like windfall for some of Gribben’s clients, who are receiving seven-figure offers to vacate and make way for condos. But developers still come out far ahead.