After six years of deliberation, multiple hearings, and shifting political support, the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA), also known as the Community Purchase Priority Act, has finally been signed into law by Mayor Mamdani, marking a significant milestone in the fight for affordable housing.
The journey of the COPA has been fraught with challenges. Sandy Nurse, the bill’s sponsor and a city council member, described Tuesday’s signing as the culmination of a “streamlined version” of legislation that has faced numerous obstacles. “This bill, after many setbacks, finally provides the community with a new tool to preserve housing,” she stated during a press conference announcing the new law.
Initiated in 2020, COPA aims to prioritize qualified nonprofit housing organizations and community land trusts in purchasing certain residential buildings when they go up for sale. The goal is to safeguard affordable housing options by preventing displacement of tenants caused by property owners neglecting maintenance or flipping properties for profit.
“The place we call home should be a stable environment, not a speculative asset,” Mayor Mamdani remarked as he signed the bill into law.
Previously, on December 18, the city council had passed an earlier version of the legislation with a vote of 31 in favor and 10 against. However, former Mayor Adams vetoed the bill before leaving office. When the city council failed to secure the necessary two-thirds majority to override the veto in February of this year, negotiations resumed. Council member Nurse presented a revised version of the act in May, and the council subsequently passed it on October 22 with a vote of 38 in favor, 9 against, and 2 abstentions, leading to the formal signing by Mayor Mamdani.
Under the new law, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is tasked with establishing a list of qualified organizations, which will include vetted nonprofit groups, tenant collectives, and community land trusts.
The buildings eligible for the program primarily consist of those with four or more units that have significant housing violations or that meet specific city affordable housing agreements.
When homeowners intend to sell, they must notify the city and the qualified organizations. The latter have 20 days to express their intent to purchase and an additional 70 days to submit their first offer. If the homeowner rejects an offer, qualified organizations can still claim the right to purchase within one year if another buyer makes a bid, matching the third-party terms. Notably, the law includes provisions for an exemption in cases of financial hardship.
In comparison to the version that was vetoed last December, the new law has a significantly narrower scope. The buildings covered by this legislation have been reduced from approximately 10,000 to about 2,100, decreasing the potential impact by nearly eighty percent.
Additionally, the timeline for nonprofits to express their purchase interest has been shortened from 25 days to 20 days, and the deadline for submitting offers has been decreased from 80 days to 70 days. Homeowners are also permitted to list, appraise, and negotiate with other buyers during this period, avoiding a complete halt in market activities.
Smaller owner-occupied properties and buildings that are only subject to the 421-a tax incentive restrictions have also been excluded from the law’s provisions.
The act is set to go into effect one year after it has been signed.
However, the real estate industry and small landlord groups continue to voice their opposition to the law. Kenny Burgos, executive director of the New York Apartment Association (NYAA), noted that while the city council has made some concessions to address industry concerns, the fundamental problems of rising operational costs and insufficient revenue have not been resolved. He stated, “Celebrating this legislation without addressing the core issues will put the housing that New Yorkers rely on at risk.”
Ann Korchak, president of the Small Property Owners of New York (SPONY), warned that COPA could lead to a decline in property values, forcing small, immigrant, and multigenerational homeowners to sell their properties at “extremely low prices.”
Chinese small landlords have expressed concerns as well, arguing that the preferential purchasing rights given to government-recognized nonprofits undermine the autonomy of private homeowners to sell their properties. Li Zhipo, president of the Brooklyn Bay Parkway Chinese Chamber of Commerce, remarked, “If buying and selling homes involves so many barriers and waiting for nonprofits to decide whether to buy, it becomes far less attractive for investors.”