Legislation would overhaul City’s third party transfer program
New York City, NY – September 26, 2024 – Today, Council Member Sanchez introduced Int. 1063, the Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act: a transformative set of reforms to the Third Party Transfer (TPT) program, originally established in 1996 to address the challenges posed by buildings in financial and physical distress. The new legislation aims to protect homeownership and low-income communities while holding landlords and negligent owners accountable and secure safe living conditions for residents.
The revamped program will prioritize the most distressed properties, eliminate the harmful “block pick-up” provision, implement fair off-ramps for certain property owners, and bolster outreach efforts to both owners and tenants. Additionally, the legislation will create new opportunities for resident ownership, empowering communities and fostering sustainable living environments.
“Today, I am proud to introduce the Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act (HRRPA), a transformative set of reforms to the City’s deeply flawed Third Party Transfer (TPT) program. The TPT, created in 1996 to rehabilitate distressed buildings, proved disastrous, disproportionately impacting communities of color and targeting properties that were not even statutorily distressed. A 2019 Council Audit revealed that over 50% of properties selected for TPT were not distressed – evidence of misadministration of the program – and more than half were concentrated in just 11 low- to moderate-income communities of color, many of which included HDFC co-ops. This failure not only attacked homeownership but also perpetuated racial injustice.
“With HRRPA, we chart a new path. The legislation prioritizes the most distressed buildings, guarantees fairness for property owners, with additional pathways and resources to redemption for owner-occupied homes, and expands rather than contracts opportunities for resident ownership. By ensuring more notice and outreach, we will protect our most vulnerable New Yorkers—those living in unsafe, substandard conditions. As HPD violations have surged by over 40% since FY2021, and emergency repair work has doubled since FY2023, the need for stronger housing code enforcement is clear. Buildings like 2201-05 Davidson Avenue, with more than $25 million in unpaid taxes and 400 ‘immediately hazardous’ violations, are proof that our systems are failing New Yorkers and need an overhaul. The HRRPA ensures negligent landlords are held accountable, while addressing the longstanding housing crisis and ensuring all New Yorkers have access to safe, dignified housing. This is the transformative change our city desperately needs,” said Council Member Pierina Sanchez, Chair of the Committee on Housing and Buildings.
“Council Member Sanchez’s Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act will not just ensure the rehabilitation of New York City’s increasing number of dilapidated buildings, but also lay the foundations for a safer and more affordable city for New Yorkers,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “The reform of the City’s decades old Third Party Transfer (TPT) program is long overdue: the number of Housing and Maintenance Code violations issued has increased by more than 40 percent since Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 and the number of units affected by emergency repair work has more than doubled since FY 2023. I thank Council Member Sanchez, housing advocates, impacted New Yorkers, and members of the TPT 2019 Working Group for leading the effort to strengthen our residents’ living conditions.
“The Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act would create a path to preserve affordable housing, which is desperately needed,” said Council Member Gale A. Brewer. “It creates a fair process for owners while giving the City a tool to hold the worst actors accountable and secure safe, dignified living conditions for New Yorkers. The legislation is promising and I look forward to seeing it progress.”
“The Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act is a critical step in addressing decades of neglect and injustice faced by the thousands of New Yorkers living in deteriorated buildings in our City,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “I’m grateful for Council Member Sanchez’s leadership in reforming the City’s Third Party Transfer program, giving communities of color and low-income residents the tools they need to secure safe and dignified housing.”
“It is imperative that we take action on tenant protections, especially when there is a lack of transparency and awareness within the current guidelines of the Third Party Transfer (TPT) Program. Communities of color are being disproportionately affected, as properties are being foreclosed upon without prior knowledge to residents and left in unstable conditions. With the Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act, there will be clear communication with both tenants and owners, while holding landlords accountable for unsafe and substandard living conditions.” said Council Member Oswald Feliz.
“We cannot stand by while New Yorkers, especially in communities of color and low to moderate-income neighborhoods, continue to live in unsafe and distressed buildings,” said Council Member Christopher Marte. “The Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act reforms the Third Party Transfer (TPT) program to address the injustices of the past and provide a real lifeline for those who need it most. By eliminating harmful practices, prioritizing the most neglected buildings, and creating pathways for tenant ownership, we are ensuring that residents have the tools to secure safe, stable homes and reclaim their communities.
The existing TPT program, frozen in 2019 after its controversial tenth round, has faced criticism in recent years for its inefficiencies, limited outreach, and disproportionate impact on communities of color. The new reforms are designed to address these issues head-on: restoring fairness to the process, holding bad actors accountable, and ensuring affected New Yorkers can live in safe, quality, affordable housing.
Advocates for housing reform have lauded the proposed changes.
“The Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act is an important step toward reforming the Third Party Transfer (TPT) program, strengthening its ability to hold bad landlords accountable while ensuring that low-income homeowners are able to stay in their homes,” said Iziah Thompson, Senior Policy Analyst, Community Service Society of New York.
“Preserving existing affordable housing and protecting tenants has always been at the core of ANHD and our members’ work. It is essential that the City have a viable mechanism to transfer physically and financially distressed buildings away from irresponsible landlords, and into the hands of non-profit preservation purchasers. ANHD believes the Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act is an important step towards turning the flawed TPT program into a more successful preservation initiative, and we are grateful for the collaborative process Council Member Sanchez has led in developing this proposal,” said Emily Goldstein, Director of Organizing & Advocacy, Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD).
“For years, the third-party transfer program disproportionately targeted low-income Black and brown homeowners. We are encouraged by the city’s commitment to revamping this program, which will address the challenges posed by distressed buildings and create a clear path to tenant ownership,” said Darius Khalil Gordon, Executive Director, Met Council on Housing.
For over 20 years, UHAB has empowered tenants to become homeowners through the Third Party Transfer (TPT) Program. We’ve transformed over 1,000 distressed rental units into safe and stable homes where residents have the opportunity for affordable homeownership. The City Council’s Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act improves upon the TPT Program with desperately needed fixes to stabilize existing homeowners before they reach the point of foreclosure, while reopening a path to quality housing and ownership for New Yorkers most impacted by legacies of racial disinvestment and redlining,” said Margy Brown, Executive Director, Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB).
“We are thrilled that we share a priority with Council Member Sanchez for using municipal debt collection as a strategy for tenant protection, increasing cooperative homeownership opportunities and the preservation and development of homes and other community assets,” said the Abolish the Tax Lien Sale Coalition, made up of Community Service Society of New York, East New York Community Land Trust, New Economy Project, TakeRoot Justice, Western Queens CLT, Brooklyn Level Up, Bronx CLT, Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, the Coalition for Community Advancement, the New York City Community Land Initiative (NYCCLI) and MHANY Management Inc. “We also share the Council’s urgency to bring a city foreclosure program for distressed properties back online as a tenant protection measure–the longer we don’t have such a program, the more tenants make their homes in buildings that are not safe for their occupancy while landlords shirk their obligations to maintain safe housing.”
Key features of the new legislation include:
- Elimination of the “Block Pick-Up” Provision: Removes a clause that led to Black and Brown homeowners being unjustly included in the former program, especially Round X
- Prioritization of the most Distressed Buildings: Focuses on properties most in need of intervention, using municipal debt and open hazardous violations as key indicators
- More Stringent Outreach and Communication Requirements: Increases notice and outreach efforts to ensure that both property owners and tenants are fully aware of their options and rights
- Opportunities for Resident Ownership: Creates pathways for residents to take control of their living situations, through partnership with a qualified third party
In attendance were: NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, co-prime sponsor NYC Council Member Gale Brewer, NYC Council Members Carmen de la Rosa, Tiffany Cabán, Shahana Hanif, Julie Won, Lincoln Restler, Althea Stevens, Oswald Feliz, Erik Bottcher, Lynn Schulman, and Christopher Marte alongside advocacy groups: Legal Aid Society, West Bronx Housing, Center for New York City Neighborhoods, Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), Met Council on Housing, Abolish the Tax Lien Sale Coalition, Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB), Community Service Society of New York (CSS), Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD), Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC), the 705 & 709 W. 170th St Tenant Association, and Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation.
The reform legislation embodies the collective voices and urgent needs highlighted in the TPT Working Group, testimony from impacted individuals at the 2019 and 2021 Council hearings, and more than 50 advocacy organizations—a reflection of a renewed commitment to rectify past injustices and ensure that all New Yorkers, especially those from marginalized communities, have access to safe and dignified housing.
On Monday, September 30th at 1:00pm, the Committee on Housing and Buildings will hold a public hearing on this legislation in City Council Chambers. The City Council is committed to working closely with all stakeholders, including residents, housing advocates, and property owners, to ensure the successful implementation of these vital reforms.
Full Rally Video with Timestamps: https://youtu.be/ma_cviDvrGc?si=iau3RfuRNwZB1oyr
Photos for Public Use: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBJYVY