New York City just changed the rules for buying certain distressed apartment buildings. On Thursday, October 22, 2026, the City Council passed the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) by a vote of 38 to 9, with two abstentions. As of October 25, 2026, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he intends to sign it but has not yet done so — so COPA is passed, not yet law. If you're a buyer in the small multifamily market, here's how it affects your next deal.
How a purchase works under COPA
COPA gives qualified nonprofit organizations — including community land trusts, sometimes working with a private development partner — the first opportunity to buy certain distressed buildings before they sell on the open market.
The sequence runs like this. A seller of a covered building must notify the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which notifies HPD-certified nonprofit buyers. Those organizations have 20 days to express interest and another 70 days to put in an offer. The seller can reject that offer. But if the seller then accepts an outside buyer's offer, the nonprofit that made the first offer generally gets 15 days to match the price and terms. If no nonprofit shows interest, the deal proceeds normally. All told, trade groups estimate the process can add up to about 145 days to a transaction.
For a buyer, that means two new risks to underwrite: timeline and competition. A deal on a covered building can sit in a nonprofit window for months, and even after you agree on price, a matching right can take the building away.
Which deals are affected
The scope is much narrower than the original proposal. COPA covers Class A multiple dwellings with at least four units that meet a distress test — buildings in HPD's Alternative Enforcement Program, buildings facing in-rem foreclosure over unpaid taxes and fines, buildings under qualifying correction orders, or buildings with a high threshold of housing code violations. Buildings with up to 100 units carrying certain affordability restrictions are also covered. Buildings with as-of-right tax benefits such as 421-a or 485-x are exempt.
Critically for this borough: properties with fewer than four units are not covered, and owner-occupied buildings with five or fewer units are exempt. HPD estimates roughly 2,100 buildings citywide would currently qualify, down from about 10,000 under earlier versions, and roughly 300 buildings sold last year would have met the criteria.
What it means for a Staten Island buyer
If you're buying one-, two-, or three-family houses on Staten Island, COPA doesn't touch your deal — the borough's housing stock is overwhelmingly in that category, and those properties are outside the bill entirely.
The change lands on four-or-more-unit distressed buildings, particularly on the North Shore, where much of the borough's older multifamily stock sits. Before offering on one, check the building's HPD enforcement status. If it's covered, pad your timeline for a nonprofit window and price in the chance of a matching right. And note the bill includes a hardship exemption process for sellers, though the details await HPD's rules.
Timing matters too. Even if the mayor signs COPA, it takes effect one year after becoming law, and HPD must write the rules and certify the nonprofits first. Legal challenges are widely expected, so the final shape of the law may still shift.
The arguments on both sides
Supporters, including tenant advocates and community land trusts, argue that troubled buildings are the ones most at risk of speculative purchase, with tenants displaced or conditions left to rot — and that community groups usually find out about a sale only after a conventional buyer has already moved faster. COPA gives them a window to organize financing and bid.
Critics, including small-property-owner groups, counter that the bill delays deals by months, scares off capital from the buildings that need it most, and leaves open whether nonprofits can fund both the purchase and the repairs. They also argue it treats a symptom rather than the causes of distress, like rising operating costs and repair backlogs. Staten Island Council Member Frank Morano, who voted against it, called the bill unconstitutional.
Bottom line
COPA doesn't change the typical Staten Island house purchase. But for distressed multifamily deals, it adds a first step, a delay, and a potential competing bidder. Buyers in that market should check HPD status early, build the window into their timeline, and watch three things: the mayor's signature, HPD's rules, and the courts.
Disclosure: The author is a licensed New York real estate agent and a Staten Island investor who buys houses directly. Questions about buying? Call (917) 335-7258.