NY Landlords Brace for Tenant Power Act

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Good afternoon, let’s get into today’s news at the intersection of policy and real estate:

The new Tenant Power Act would give tenant unions a major boost.
City Council members are pushing HPD to make permanent a pilot that imposes strict limits on landlords to prevent tenant harassment, and the agency says it’s on board.
The City Council is looking to public libraries to build new affordable housing, and a new state bill could accelerate those efforts.

In this edition we mention: State Sen. Julia Salazar, Assembly Member Gabriella Romero, City Council Member Pierina Sanchez, Council Speaker Julie Menin, and others.

We Heard

Tenant Power Act: A new state bill seeks to shift the balance of power in residential real estate by establishing a legal framework for tenant unions in apartment buildings, and would create a statewide tenant association with $50 million from the state’s general fund to support such organizing. Progressive lawmakers State Sen. Julia Salazar and Assembly member Gabriella Romero quietly introduced the 10-page Tenant Power Act Tuesday, which reads like a landlord’s fever dream: it would give tenants collective bargaining rights and mandates landlords “confer in good faith” with residents on “issues of common concern,” including rent, lease terms and building conditions. Upon request, a landlord or their representative must attend at least one tenant union meeting per a quarter and, when asked, hand over detailed records, such as rent rolls, operating income and expenses, debt service and loan terms, among other documents. The bill would require landlords to provide tenant unions with at least three months' notice of “a major decision” — think a sale or rent increase. Unless there’s an “extraordinary circumstance,” the bill would allow courts to block a landlord from making any major property moves during that three-month window. Landlords also wouldn’t be able to file eviction proceedings against a tenant for at least six months after providing a major decision notice. More generally, owners would have to give unions a 20-day heads-up of any eviction action against a tenant. The legislation promises to provoke outcry from landlords and applause from tenant groups. It’s hard to imagine a world where this bill gains traction with moderate Democrats, but that’s not stopping Democratic Socialist Salazar from aiming high. “Too many New Yorkers are spending most of their paychecks on rent or living in subpar conditions,” Salazar told The Real Deal. “It’s clear that unions are needed not just in the workplace, but in our homes as well.” Salazar and Romero plan to formally announce the bill Monday.
Harassment crackdown: A coalition of progressive City Council members is urging the Mamdani administration to make the Certificate of No Harassment (CONH) pilot program a permanent tool to curb aggressive or deceptive landlord practices — a move city housing officials support. The program, which was enacted in 2018 and expanded in 2022 to last through September of this year, requires owners of buildings typically with high physical distress to obtain a CONH prior to acquiring permits from the Department of Buildings for certain projects: namely, work to change the occupancy of a building, the layout of units or to demolish. Council member and housing and buildings committee chair Pierina Sanchez, joined by seven other city lawmakers, introduced a bill Thursday to make the program permanent. The pilot currently covers 1,508 properties across all five boroughs. Real estate professionals have argued that being on the list scares away lenders and may result in apartments sitting vacant as owners wait for the ability to move forward with maintenance work. On average, it takes about seven months for a landlord to secure a certificate through an extensive application and investigation process, according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. In previously unreported analysis posted online Tuesday, HPD said it “believes that the program merits extension on a permanent basis.” The agency cited findings that more than 15 percent of the 30 CONH applications it received between June 2022 and October 2025 found evidence of past or ongoing tenant harassment. The report also notes that buildings subject to the program saw a decline in maintenance violations. Ilana Maier, a spokesperson for HPD, confirmed to TRD that the agency is “very supportive” of making the program permanent and that it looks forward to collaborating on the bill. The Committee on Housing and Buildings will host a hearing on the bill and the program’s future on Monday. More coverage to come.

Books and building: Visit the local public library in Sunset Park or Inwood and you’ll discover apartment towers above with dozens of income-restricted apartments. Such redevelopments are something City Council Speaker Julie Menin said she wants to see more of across the city’s 215 public library branches, as part of a forthcoming affordable housing plan from the Council. A new bill from State Sen. Siela Bynoe could make that an easier lift by authorizing the board of trustees of all state chartered libraries (of which the boroughs’ public libraries are) to develop, lease or use such spaces to build "affordable, mixed-use housing.” Bynoe specifically designed the bill with New York City’s Living Libraries initiative to build units atop branches in mind, saying that the measure “aims to address the housing shortage and affordability dilemma on a statewide level.” Such projects, she said, would strengthen the communities libraries are chartered to serve. Benjamin Fang-Estrada, a spokesperson for Menin, said the Council looks forward to reviewing the bill and assessing how it could help the body achieve its goal of partnering with developers to build affordable housing atop local libraries.

Have a tip or feedback? Reach me at caroline.spivack@therealdeal.com.

Bill Tracker

The Catch-Up

The Mamdani administration is acknowledging distress in rent-stabilized buildings with a new publicly-backed insurance option for rent-stabilized and affordable property owners. But the city and landlords have different ideas about how to address the issue, reports TRD’s Lilah Burke.

The battle over a New York City pied-à-terre tax is over; it was over before anyone fired a shot, writes TRD columnist Erik Engquist.

With Mayor Mamdani and Council Speaker Menin cheering them on, building workers with 32BJ SEIU authorized a strike on Wednesday and could walk off the job as soon as Monday unless a new contract is brokered.

The Mamdani administration has been in talks with Gov. Hochul’s office about reducing spending on city housing vouchers as part of a potential deal to send more state aid to the city, reports New York Focus.

Mamdani released his joint 2025 tax return with his wife, Rama Duwaji, taking in $145,000 — $1,643 of which was royalties from the mayor’s stint as rapper Mr. Cardamom, reports Politico.

State lawmakers passed a budget extender through April 20 to keep state employees paid and agencies open as budget negotiations plod along, reports News 10 ABC. It likely won’t be the last.

The Kicker

“If an oligarch gets upset and says, ‘I can’t afford this anymore,’ who knows—maybe somebody will buy it and become a taxpayer in New York state,” said Assembly member John McDonald, who represents parts of Albany, on Hochul’s proposed pied-à-terre tax for New York City.