New York City Council Passes Controversial Housing Bills

NEW YORK—In its last session before the change in administration, the New York City Council passed a host of housing-related bills, some over the protests of real estate industry advocacy organizations and the Adams administration, that are geared to providing greater affordability and access to housing.

Among the measures passed by the council on Dec. 18 are co-op transparency, a requirement for landlords to provide cooling systems to their tenants by June 1, 2030 and an increase in the ratio of affordable housing units in all new construction.

The council passed a measure requiring a timeline be set on co-op transactions, but did not include requiring co-op boards provide a reason for a denial of an applicant. The council passed Introduction 1120-B, sponsored by Majority Leader Amanda Farías, which sets timelines for decisions regarding the sale of co-op apartments, requiring the co-op to acknowledge receipt of application materials within 15 days and provide notice of whether it has consented to the sale within 45 days after the application is complete.

“In the cooperative housing process, buyers are often left without any response at all, creating uncertainty, financial strain, and a system where discrimination can persist without accountability,” said Majority Leader Farías. “Introduction 1120-A establishes clear timelines and communication requirements and provides for enforcement through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development using an escalating penalty-based system. This approach strengthens transparency and predictability in cooperative transactions while ensuring the law is workable and fair.”

The council also passed the controversial Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA), sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse, that gives qualified nonprofits, or joint ventures between qualified nonprofits and other entities, a first opportunity to submit an offer and purchase certain residential properties when an owner plans to sell the property before it is placed on the open market.

“Corporate interests and big real estate tried their hardest to block the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act with a misinformation and fear-mongering campaign, and they failed,” said Council Member Sandy Nurse. “Today marks the beginning of a new social housing era in New York City, one where working New Yorkers advance tools to stop the venture capitalists who are driving up rents and pushing families out of their neighborhoods. COPA levels the playing field and makes it possible to preserve and create thousands of permanently affordable homes across our city.”

The following are the other housing-related bills passed by the City Council on Dec. 18:

Introduction 958-A, sponsored by Speaker Adrienne Adams, doubles the production of affordable homeownership opportunities financed by the city by requiring that at least 4 % of all newly constructed affordable units be for homeownership.

Introduction 1433-A, sponsored by Council Member Eric Dinowitz, requires that, starting July 1, 2027, at least 25% of rental affordable units financed by the city be two-bedroom units and 15% be three-bedroom units.

Introduction 1443-A, sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse, requires that, starting July 1, 2027, 50% of newly constructed rental units financed by the city be affordable for very low-income households, and at least 30% for extremely low-income households.

Introduction 910-B, also known as the Construction Justice Act, sponsored by Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, requires housing developers of certain city-funded projects to pay their workers a minimum combined wage and essential benefits package of at least $40 per hour, with no less than $25 for wages. It would also require developers to engage in best efforts to ensure that at least 30% of workers on these projects are New York City residents.

Introduction 994-A, sponsored by Council Member Lincoln Restler, will require that, by June 1, 2030, owners of tenant-occupied buildings provide cooling systems capable of maintaining 78 degrees Fahrenheit in rooms in which tenants sleep, upon the request of the tenant. This bill would also require that owners of buildings with systems in which the owner controls the temperature run such systems to maintain 78 degrees Fahrenheit in a cooling season from June 15 through September 15.

The following bills seek to shift the city from the current practice of selling liens to a Delaware-based trust to instead use a New York City-established land bank. The city-established land bank would prioritize community needs, avoid unnecessary displacement of homeowners, and ensure tax delinquent properties are returned to productive use, while allowing the city to efficiently collect outstanding municipal debts.

Introduction 570-B, sponsored by Council Member Gale A. Brewer, creates a New York City land bank, pending state approval, to acquire and manage vacant, abandoned, tax-delinquent, and foreclosed properties. The land bank would be able to purchase and enforce tax liens bought from the City in a way that promotes the preservation of homeownership and home equity, prevention of displacement, and putting properties to productive community use.

Introduction 1407-A, sponsored by Speaker Adrienne Adams, would authorize the city to sell tax liens to a city land bank. The bill also requires the Department of Finance to condition that no purchaser of a tax lien may foreclose on a lien for class one residential property (typically one- to three-family homes) until one year after the date of the sale. Lien purchasers would also be required to regularly notify property owners of amounts owed.

Introduction 1411-A, sponsored by Council Member Gale Brewer, requires the Commissioner of Finance to notify the board of managers of a condominium if the commissioner intends to sell a tax lien on one of its units.

Introduction 1419-A, sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse, requires the Commissioner of Finance to report annually on properties encumbered by chronically unresolved tax liens that remain unsatisfied for 36 months or more after being sold, and provide annually a list of these properties to heads of agencies charged with property-related enforcement.

Introduction 1420-A, sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse, would require the Commissioner of Finance to require purchasers of tax liens to make best efforts to transfer the liens to the City Land Bank upon certain triggering events.

“For decades, the lien sale has stripped senior, Black, and brown homeowners of their wealth and assets over what can sometimes be a few thousand dollars in municipal charges,” said Council Member Nurse. “After sitting on the Tax Lien Sale Task Force this past year, it is clear that we need alternative institutions with clearer channels of communication and oversight to dispose of and resolve tax liens. With the package of bills we are passing today, including my bills Intros 1419 and 1420, we are ending the lien sale as we know it by getting rid of the opaque trust system and creating a municipal land bank to put us on a path of fiscal responsibility without sacrificing our neighbors.”