On October 22, 2026, the New York City Council passed the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, known as COPA (Intro 905-A). The law gives nonprofits the city certifies a first chance to buy certain distressed apartment buildings when the owner decides to sell. It does not force any owner to sell, it does not set the sale price, and it does not touch the typical 1 to 3 family home. Mayor Mamdani supports the bill and is expected to sign it, and COPA takes effect one year after it becomes law, so owners have time to prepare. Here is what Queens multifamily owners should know, and the steps worth taking now.
What COPA does
When the owner of a covered building decides to sell, COPA adds a structured window at the front of the sale:
– The owner notifies the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) that the building will be sold, and HPD alerts the certified nonprofits, called qualified entities.
– Qualified entities have 20 days to say they are interested in buying.
– An interested entity then has 70 days to submit a real first offer. HPD can allow one short extension of up to five days.
– The owner has 10 days to accept, reject, or counter the offer, and 30 days to sign a contract if a deal is reached.
– If the owner later moves to accept an offer from another buyer, the nonprofit that offered first gets 15 days to match that price and those terms before the sale can close.
Owners can keep marketing the building, showing it, and negotiating with other buyers while these windows run, and an owner can always say no to the nonprofit offer. COPA controls the order of the conversation, not the outcome. All in, the first look runs about 90 days, with the 15 day match right waiting at the end.
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Which buildings are covered
COPA is aimed at distressed buildings, not the whole market. A building is covered only if it is a Class A multiple dwelling with four or more units, and it meets at least one of these distress tests:
– It sits in the Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP).
– The city has formally determined it to be distressed, including buildings in city tax foreclosure proceedings.
– It is under a court order or an agency order to correct conditions.
– It averages three or more Class B or Class C violations per unit.
– HPD denied it a certification of no harassment in the past year.
– It carries an affordability agreement managed by HPD and has 100 or fewer units.
HPD estimated in September that about 2,100 buildings citywide meet the tests right now, out of the entire New York City apartment stock. Owner occupied buildings with five or fewer units are exempt, and affordability agreements that come from as of right tax programs such as 421-a and its successor 485x do not count a building in. Government transfers, foreclosure sales, and transfers within a family also sit outside the process. Owners who can show the process would cause undue financial hardship can apply to HPD for an exemption.
What COPA does not do
– It does not force a sale. Owners still sell when they choose, or not at all.
– It does not set or cap the price. The market still decides what a building is worth.
– It does not require accepting the nonprofit offer. Rejecting it and countering it are built into the timeline.
– It does not cover the typical Queens 1 to 3 family home, and owner occupied buildings of five or fewer units are exempt.
– It does not start today. Nothing is required of any owner until the law takes effect, one year after it becomes law.
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What Queens owners should do now
Most Queens owners will never deal with COPA directly. The ones who might own the small and midsize rental buildings you see across Astoria, Jackson Heights, Jamaica, and Far Rockaway, and for them a little preparation goes a long way:
– Find out whether your building could be covered. Check the unit count, the open violation history, AEP status, and any affordability agreement with HPD. If none of the distress tests fit, COPA likely never touches your sale.
– Get your violation count down. The test of three or more Class B or Class C violations per unit is the one most likely to surprise a small owner. Closing out open violations, and keeping them closed, can move a borderline building out of COPA territory, and it makes any sale cleaner.
– Plan the calendar before you list. Once the law is live, a covered sale needs the 20 day and 70 day windows up front and the 15 day match right near closing. Build that time into your plans, especially if the sale proceeds fund another purchase.
– Consider your timing on purpose. Owners already thinking about selling in the next year or two have a real choice to weigh with their attorney: sell before the effective date and skip the process entirely, or sell after it with the windows built in. Neither answer fits everyone, but the choice is worth making deliberately.
– Put the team together early. A real estate attorney who knows the new rules, plus a broker who can run the nonprofit window and the open market at the same time, will matter more than ever on covered buildings.
– Keep your paperwork ready. Rent rolls, leases, violation records, and any HPD agreements are the first things a qualified nonprofit will ask for. Having them organized shortens every window.
When does this start?
The Council passed COPA on October 22, 2026, by a wide margin, and sent it to Mayor Mamdani, who championed the bill as part of his housing plan and is expected to sign it. COPA then takes effect one year after it becomes law. During that year, HPD has to write the operating rules and certify the nonprofits allowed to take part. A version of COPA passed the Council once before, in 2025, and was vetoed by Mayor Adams; this narrower version was rewritten with a tighter definition of distressed buildings and won support from the Real Estate Board of New York. We will update this post when HPD publishes the rules and the list of certified nonprofits.
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Quick answers
My building has six units and no violations to speak of. Does COPA apply to me?
Almost certainly not. Coverage takes four or more units plus at least one distress test. A well kept six unit building with a clean violation record sits outside the law.
Can a nonprofit force me to sell my building to them?
No. COPA gives certified nonprofits a first chance to make an offer and a short window to match an outside offer. The decision to sell, and the decision to accept any offer, stays with the owner.
Can I still sell to a regular buyer?
Yes. You can market the building and negotiate with any buyer while the nonprofit windows run. If you accept an outside offer on a covered building, the nonprofit that offered first gets 15 days to match the price and terms before you can close.
I own a 2 family home in Queens. Should I worry about COPA?
No. Homes of 1 to 3 families are outside COPA, and owner occupied buildings with five or fewer units are exempt as well. This law is about distressed apartment buildings, not houses.
When do I actually have to do anything?
Not yet. COPA takes effect one year after it becomes law, and HPD still has to publish the rules and certify the participating nonprofits. Owners thinking about a sale in the next year or two should plan with the effective date in mind.
What if following COPA would seriously hurt me financially?
The law lets an owner apply to HPD for an exemption by showing undue financial hardship. A real estate attorney can tell you whether your situation fits before you list.
To Sum it up…
COPA will not change most Queens home sales. For the owners of distressed multifamily buildings, it changes the first chapter of the sale: a certified nonprofit gets a defined first look, and the calendar gets longer. The owners who plan for that now, with clean violation records and the right advice lined up, will barely feel it. The owners who first hear about it at the contract stage will feel all of it.
Questions about a building you own, or one you are thinking of buying? Call the Queens Home Team at 718-968-5538 or write to info@nyhometeams.com. We are glad to walk through the numbers and the timeline with you.
This post is general information about a new law, not legal advice. Talk with a real estate attorney about your specific building.
