NYC Council Passes COPA, Other Housing Reforms Over CRE Pushback

In its final, blockbuster-length session of the year, the New York City Council voted to pass five new housing bills — including the contentious Community Opportunity to Purchase Act.

COPA gives approved nonprofits and some private entities the right to make the first offer on troubled apartment buildings with four or more units or properties with affordability restrictions expiring, as well as the right to match any higher bid.

The bill, along with four others targeting affordable housing developments, is now headed to Mayor Eric Adams’ desk.

"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," Council Member Sandy Nurse, who introduced the legislation last year, said in a statement.

"COPA levels the playing field and makes it possible to preserve and create thousands of permanently affordable homes across our city."

The outgoing mayor can either sign them into law, veto the legislation or leave them sitting on his desk at Gracie Mansion until Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is sworn in Jan. 1.

If the mayor doesn't sign or veto the bills within 30 days, they will become law by default. 

Adams' office declined to say whether he would veto the bills but called them "irresponsible" in a statement following the vote and said he would be reviewing them Thursday night.

"The council passed a suite of housing bills today that will add red tape, drive up rents, and deplete critical city resources at a time when our housing budget faces significant threats from the federal government," Adams spokesperson Fabien Levy said in the statement. "These short-sighted bills will not only worsen the affordability crisis, but will also sandbag the incoming mayor and speaker."

The COPA legislation has been debated for years, and the version that was introduced during this legislative session sent the city's multifamily industry into a panic when it became clear it was likely to be brought up for the vote.

But the bill was significantly weakened earlier this this month, reducing the number of buildings that the legislation would apply to, allowing nonprofits and for-profits to pair up for purchases, and reducing the time that nonprofit bidders would have first right of refusal for.

It passed Thursday evening with 30 votes in favor, 10 votes against and eight abstentions.

If COPA were to become law, owners who put properties with four or more units up for sale would be required to offer nonprofits and their partners the first chance to bid on those buildings.

To be eligible, properties must also have as many Class-B violations as the building has units, and at least $1,500 of debt per unit that the city could place liens against, like unpaid water or tax bills. Buildings that have affordability restrictions that expire within two years of the point of sale would also fall under the COPA umbrella.

Nonprofit bidders and their partners would have 45 days to submit a letter of intent to purchase, 90 days to make an offer and then 30 days to enter a contract. The landlord would also be allowed to receive private market offers, and could accept them if the nonprofit bidder doesn't match that offer within 15 days.

The Department of Housing and Preservation Development has opposed the bills, arguing they would cost $600M to implement. Mamdani's transition team also lobbied against COPA, The New York Times reported.

The council also passed four other housing bills, affecting affordable projects that receive HPD financing.

Two of the bills would go into effect next July, while the other two would take effect in mid-2027.

Of the first two passed on Thursday, one would require new subsidized developments to set aside 25% of all units as two-bedroom apartments and 15% as three-bedroom apartments. The other would mandate that 4% of all new construction affordable units allow for residents to pursue homeownership opportunities after five years. 

The first of the two bills expected to go into effect in 2027 stipulates that developers whose projects already have to contain two- and three-bedroom units would have to set aside half of the project’s units at very or extremely low area median income bands. The delay in the law's implementation is to avoid disruption for ongoing projects that are currently lining up financing.

The final bill would provide developers with housing projects of 150 units or more with financial assistance to pay construction workers a minimum of $40 an hour, as well as contributions to benefits including medical or dental insurance and retirement accounts.

Outgoing Speaker Adrienne Adams has said she won't call lawmakers back before the end of the year to override any mayoral vetoes issued.

That will leave their fate up to presumptive new Council Speaker Julie Menin, who is expected to take the gavel in January and will have to decide whether to override a veto made by the outgoing mayor.

The Real Estate Board of New York has opposed COPA, along with multifamily lobbying groups like the New York Apartment Association and Small Property Owners of New York, arguing it would chill development of new housing and disincentivize landlords from upgrading their buildings.

If COPA does ultimately become the law of the land, it is certain to draw legal challenges. 

“From a litigation standpoint, COPA raises familiar legal questions about the extent to which the government can interfere with private contractual and property rights in service of that policy goal,” Herrick, Feinstein LLP partner Eliad Shapiro said in a statement. “As with similar measures, property owners are likely to test these issues in court.”