City Council Passes Bill to Create Speculation Watch List

The City Council recently unanimously voted on the “Predatory Equity Bill,” which will create a watch list of rent-regulated buildings where tenants are potentially vulnerable to investors who may want to kick them out. The legislation requires HPD to compile a “Speculation Watch List” of rent-regulated properties with sales prices that are unusually high in comparison to similar sales in the area. City officials feel that such transactions could hint that investors seek to raise rents in the buildings by displacing current tenants.

HPD will complete the list within the next 10 months and update it quarterly. When published, the Speculation Watch List will be available to the public via Open Data and will serve as a resource for tenants and tenant organizations, as well as an indicator for city and state agencies of possible tenant harassment patterns.