NYC Council passes COPA 38-9, giving nonprofits 70-day window

New York City's Council passed the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act 38-9 on Thursday, giving nonprofits first shot at rent-stabilized buildings before they reach the for-profit market, Commercial Observer reported.

Owners of covered buildings must notify the New York City Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) before listing. The notification opens a 70-day window for nonprofit buyers, alone or in joint venture with for-profit partners, to submit an offer. Sellers may apply for an exemption based on undue financial hardship. Coverage is limited to buildings with high HPD or Department of Buildings violation counts and to properties in a city remediation program.

For multifamily owners and their funds, the change is the sale sequence: a covered rent-stabilized asset cannot go to market without HPD notification and the 70-day buyer window. That adds time between the decision to sell and closing, so listing agreements and hold-period assumptions need a cushion for covered buildings. Buildings with clean violation records and no remediation flag sit outside the statute, making each asset's violation history a diligence item for a portfolio buyer.

Up to 57,000 rent-stabilized units sit vacant, a 70% increase since 2019, according to the New York State Division of Homes and Community Renewal. High interest rates, rising insurance costs and utility prices would likely apply to nonprofit owners as much as for-profit owners, since both inherit the same revenue and expense math at the building.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani backed the bill in May and is likely to sign it. Former Mayor Eric Adams vetoed COPA as one of his last acts after six years of revisions. Mamdani's freeze on rent increases in the rent-stabilized sector took effect Oct. 1. The next marker is the mayor's signature.