Nearly 70 tenant and community groups across New York State are calling on state lawmakers to pass the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and allocate $250 million annually to support its implementation, arguing that stronger measures are needed to prevent corporate takeovers of rental housing.
In a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, the groups urged legislators to include TOPA (S401) in this year’s state budget. The proposed legislation would grant tenants the first opportunity to buy their buildings when they go up for sale, allowing them to work with nonprofit housing organizations and community land trusts to maintain permanently affordable housing.
The push for TOPA comes after Governor Kathy Hochul included a 75-day hold on private equity purchases of single-family homes in her executive budget but did not address the growing trend of corporate landlords acquiring multifamily rental properties. Tenant advocates argue this omission leaves renters vulnerable to predatory speculation and displacement.
“If the Governor and state Legislature are serious about stopping rampant predatory speculation, they can’t ignore the millions of rent-burdened tenants on the frontlines of New York’s housing crisis,” said Chelsea Diaz of the New Economy Project. “TOPA will give tenants and community land trusts a powerful tool to take land and housing off the speculative market and expand the supply of deeply affordable, community-controlled housing in Black and brown neighborhoods.”
The call for action aligns with demands from the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus, which has listed TOPA as a top priority in its Empower Black New York Agenda and People’s Budget Framework. Advocates highlight the urgent need for tenant protections, citing statistics that show between 40 and 60 percent of renter households statewide are rent-burdened, with Black and Latino residents facing the highest levels of housing insecurity.
Supporters of TOPA point to successful programs in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Minneapolis, where similar legislation has helped preserve affordable housing. In New York, proponents estimate that passing TOPA could protect 20,000 affordable housing units within five years.
“Every New Yorker deserves a home where they can rest, raise their families, and build community with their neighbors,” said Cea Weaver, Director of Housing Justice for All. “The Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act would protect us from the churn of our profit-driven housing market, creating stable, resident-controlled social housing across our state.”
The proposal now faces debate in Albany as lawmakers negotiate the state budget. Tenant advocates say the fight is a matter of equity and stability, urging lawmakers to act swiftly to curb corporate influence over New York’s housing market.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].