City Council Weighs New Plan to Seize Buildings from Negligent Landlords

The New York City Council proposed new legislation on Thursday, September 26th, aimed at seizing properties from landlords who have repeatedly failed to pay property taxes and allowed buildings to fall into severe disrepair. Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, chair of the housing committee who represents District 14, introduced the “Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act” to replace the city’s controversial “Third Party Transfer” (TPT) program, which was criticized for disproportionately targeting small homeowners of color.

The original TPT program, which was discontinued in 2019, allowed the city to foreclose on properties where landlords owed back taxes and had extensive housing violations. These properties were then transferred to developers for rehabilitation, but small homeowners often lost their properties over modest debts without proper compensation. A City Council review found that most properties included in the program were concentrated in the Bronx and Brooklyn, disproportionately affecting low-income communities.

Sanchez’s new plan aims to fix the flaws of the TPT program by providing more outreach to landlords at risk of foreclosure, particularly targeting larger apartment buildings with criminal levels of neglect. The legislation also includes a provision to return any excess funds from property sales to the original owners, addressing a key concern raised by critics of the previous program.

The proposal comes as the city faces ongoing issues with absentee landlords, such as the owner of a Bronx complex who has racked up over $25 million in unpaid taxes and fines while failing to address safety issues like elevator outages, leaks, and mold. Tenants in such buildings have rallied in support of the program, hoping it will give them the opportunity to take over their buildings as tenant-run co-ops or affordable housing units.

However, the plan faces opposition. Some homeowner advocates argue that the new proposal could still disproportionately affect small property owners, and an attorney representing homeowners who lost properties under the previous TPT program has threatened to sue if the new legislation is enacted. Despite these challenges, Sanchez emphasizes that the bill is necessary to hold negligent landlords accountable and improve living conditions for vulnerable tenants.