NYC Passes the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA), Giving Nonprofits the First Chance to Buy Certain Residential Buildings
On October 22, 2026, after a six-year legislative battle spanning three mayors, four introductions, and one mayoral veto, the New York City Council passed the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, known as COPA, by a vote of 38 to 9 with two abstentions. The bill, Introduction 905-A, sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse of Brooklyn, now heads to Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has pledged to sign it. An earlier version passed the Council in December 2025 only to be vetoed by then-Mayor Eric Adams, a veto the Council did not override. The version passed this week is considerably narrower than its predecessors, but its core concept remains similar. Certain nonprofit organizations will have the first opportunity to purchase certain residential buildings before those buildings reach the open market. (see NYC Council Press Release, Oct. 22, 2026; see also Int. No. 905-A, Legislative History and Bill Text)
How COPA Will Work
COPA gives qualified entities, meaning certain not-for-profits or joint ventures between not-for-profits and other entities, as certified by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), a statutory head start when a covered residential property is offered for sale. The mechanics operate in sequence. An owner of a subject property who intends to take action to sell must first notify HPD and the qualified entities. The qualified entities then have:
- twenty (20) days to submit a statement of interest in purchasing the property;
- seventy (70) days to submit a first offer to purchase the property; and
- a right of first refusal if the owner receives an offer from a person other than a qualified entity.
Industry reporting places the total timeline for a qualified entity to close at one hundred forty-five (145) days, shortened from one hundred sixty (160) days in the vetoed version. An owner may apply for an exemption from the requirements upon a showing of undue financial hardship, and HPD must submit periodic reports on the program. (see NYC Council Press Release, Oct. 22, 2026; see also Bisnow, COPA Heads to the Mayor’s Desk)
A Narrower Bill Than Its Predecessors
The bill that passed is a substantially scaled-back version of the COPA bill first introduced in 2020. Reporting on the Council’s committee analysis indicates that the revisions cut the bill’s potential reach by nearly eighty percent, confining it to a narrower number of distressed and affordable buildings with elevated violation counts rather than the broad sweep of multifamily housing covered by earlier drafts.
Advocates estimate that the law will apply to roughly three hundred (300) buildings per year, and the City estimates that as many as 2,100 buildings could ultimately be affected. Large mixed-income and affordable buildings receiving 485-x and 421-a as-of-right tax benefits or other zoning enhancements are exempt. The final version also narrowed the enforcement provisions and added a statute of limitations for lawsuits alleging COPA violations. (see amNY, Council Passes Scaled-Back COPA Bill; see also The Real Deal, COPA Passes After Six-Year Battle)
The Debate
Supporters frame the law as an anti-displacement tool that will move at-risk housing into community control before speculative buyers can acquire it, and Council Member Nurse called the final bill “…the most strategic, most operationally sound version…” of the legislation. Opponents on the Council and in the industry raised property-rights objections, with one member calling the bill unconstitutional. Critics argued that it gives qualified entities an advantage not available to conventional buyers while adding time and uncertainty to the sale of the very buildings it covers. Members should expect both narratives to continue as the law is implemented, and possibly to be tested in court. (see City Limits, Council Passes Bill Giving Nonprofits First Opportunity; see also Brick Underground, COPA Passes City Council)
What COPA Means for Members and Their Clients
For members who list, sell, or advise on multifamily buildings in the Bronx, Manhattan, and the rest of the five boroughs, COPA will change the front end of every covered transaction. The statutory notice to HPD and the qualified entities must precede the sale process, which means the statement-of-interest and first-offer windows now sit between an owner’s decision to sell and any open-market campaign.
Listing agreements, marketing timelines, and seller expectations will all need to account for the time requirements and periods. Purchasers who are not qualified entities face a different risk, since any offer they make on a covered building can be matched through the right of first refusal. Precisely which buildings are covered, how HPD will certify qualified entities, and when the law takes effect will be settled by the mayoral signature and HPD’s implementation, all of which members should watch closely.
Practical Guidance for Members
Although the law awaits the Mayor’s signature and HPD’s implementing guidance, members can begin preparing now. The following points deserve attention:
- Identify covered inventory early. Before taking a listing on a multifamily building in New York City, determine whether the property is likely to fall within COPA’s covered categories, and document the analysis in the file.
- Build the statutory clock into the marketing plan. The notice, statement-of-interest, and first-offer periods precede any open-market sale of a covered building. Sellers should be advised of the realistic timeline before the listing agreement is signed, not after.
- Document the notices in writing. Notice to HPD and the qualified entities is a statutory precondition. Proof of when and how notice was given should be retained in the transaction file.
- Advise non-qualified purchasers about the right of first refusal. An investor client making an offer on a covered building should understand that a qualified entity may match it, and contract terms should be drafted with that possibility in mind. Agents should note that a transaction may be subject to COPA and attorneys need to include provisions in the contract of sale referencing COPA and its requirements.
- Monitor the Mayor’s signature, the effective date, and the HPD rules. The Mayor has pledged to sign the bill, and the certification process, the covered-property criteria, and the hardship exemption procedure will take shape through HPD’s implementation.
COPA arrives as the latest in a series of measures, from the FARE Act to the Fair and Transparent Real Estate Listings Act awaiting action in Albany, that restructure how residential property is marketed and sold in New York. Whatever one’s view of the policy, the professional obligation is the same as always. Members who (i) learn the statute’s mechanics now, (ii) advise their clients on important timelines, and (iii) document compliance from the first conversation will be the ones whose transactions proceed smoothly when the law takes effect.
About the author: John Dolgetta, Esq. is the principal of the law firm of Dolgetta Law, PLLC. For information about Dolgetta Law, PLLC and John Dolgetta, Esq., please visit http://www.dolgettalaw.com. The foregoing article is for informational purposes only and does not confer an attorney-client relationship and shall not be considered legal advice. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of HGAR, its affiliates, or any other entity.
