The New York City Council passed the Community Opportunity Purchase Act (COPA). COPA would grant a first right of refusal to non-profit groups in New York City, requiring property owners to provide these entities with the opportunity to purchase a distressed multifamily building prior to publicly listing it for sale. Mayor Mamdani is expected to sign the bill into law, as he previously expressed support for COPA.
Below are a few major provisions of the bill:
- COPA applies to a subset of properties deemed financially or physically distressed by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which are estimated to amount to less than 1 percent of the multifamily buildings that were sold in 2025. This bill exempts owner-occupied buildings with 5 or fewer units, and all properties with fewer than 4 units.
- It includes a maximum delay in the sale of the property of 145 days.
- It exempts larger properties (more than 100 units) that are subject to affordability restrictions, such as 421-a or 485-x.
- It also limits HPD's ability to extend the timeline for a first offer of purchase by no more than 5 days, rather than an indefinite extension.