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Our Reports and Legislation

June 2016 Banking on Gentrification new report on the banking industry’s role in predatory equity and legislative recommendations

Three 2016 City Council Bills, introduced by Council Members Torres, Garodnick & Williams work together to stop PE and bring the PE players out of the shadows.

Intro 1210  – Owner Watch Lists

This bill requires the Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) to create and maintain a watch list (available on their website) for owners of multiple dwelling buildings (6 or more units) who are engaged in predatory equity practices. The watch list will have two categories: (1) High Risk, and (2) Moderate Risk.

An owner may be placed on the “Moderate Risk” list if the building in question has a debt service cover ratio (see UHAB one pager on this) of less than 1.05% and one or more of the following criteria applies:

An owner may be placed on the “High Risk” list if one or more of the following criteria apply to the building at issue:

Maintenance of the Watch List:

Intro 1211 – Conspiracy to Harass

This bill creates a rebuttable presumption (believed to be true until proven otherwise) regarding tenant harassment.

Debt Service Coverage Ratio as Related to Harassment

When a building has a debt service coverage ratio of less than 1.05%, the following allegations will be believed to be true and used to cause a tenant to vacate their apartment UNLESS the landlord can prove otherwise:

 

Intro 1212 – Lender Watch List

This bill requires the Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) to create and maintain a watch list (available on their website) of lenders who provide financial support to owners engaged in predatory equity practices.

Creation of Lender Watch List Taskforce

Info Available on the Lender Watch List: name of lender, address of the multiple dwelling at issue, the name of the building owner.

Sharing Watch List Info: each year, HPD will send the Lender Watch List info to the U.S. Comptroller of currency, the board of governors of the Federal Reserve and the director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and any other state or federal agency that oversees banking rules and regulations.

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