Establishes the homeownership protection program

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic30
• Republican4

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Brian Kavanagh says this is needed

Legislative intent: The legislature declares that the establishment of the homeowner protection program (HOPP) is necessary to ensure continuation of New York's investment in its statewide network of non-profit civil legal services providers and housing counseling agencies offering a range of homeownership retention and preservation services to homeowners in every county in the state. The program is also necessary to ensure that the statutory mandates of sections thirteen hundred three and thirteen hundred four of the real property actions and proceedings law and rule thirty-four hundred eight of the civil practice law and rules are fulfilled, so that free housing counseling and legal services are avail- able to homeowners as provided for by sections thirteen hundred three and thirteen hundred four of the real property actions and proceedings law in every county, and so that legal services are available to assist homeowners answering complaints and participating in mandatory settle- ment conferences pursuant to rule thirty-four hundred eight of the civil practice law and rules. Program Justification: The Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) was established in 2012 to provide legal services and housing counseling to New York homeowners at risk of losing their homes. Originally funded by the state's bank settlement funds, HOPP has, in recent years, received annual allocation from the State to support its network of 33 legal services organizations and 56 housing counseling agencies. Statewide, 150,000 families have been helped by HOPP, with over 15,000 families receiving assistance each year. It is necessary to codify HOPP and to mandate annual appropriations to fund this program to ensure access to homeownership retention and fore- closure mitigation services is maintained for homeowners facing the potential loss of their homes. For example, between January and December 2022, there was an 85% increase in delinquency notices sent to New York City homeowners. Statewide, as of February 2023, there were 346,928 New York families at risk of losing their homes due to delinquency, accord- ing to February 2023 data from the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey. If annual funding for HOPP is not mandated, the loss of funding for the network would leave these families without the help they need to save their homes. It is also necessary to codify HOPP to ensure that the statutory mandates of RPAPL 1303, 1304 and CPLR 3408 are fulfilled, so that free housing counseling and legal services are available to homeowners as provided for by RPAPL sections 1303 and 1304 in every county, and so that legal services are available to assist homeowners answering complaints and participating in mandatory settlement conferences pursu- ant to CPLR section 3408, which requires a copy of the filing of judi- cial intervention to be sent to a housing counseling agency so the home- owner can be notified of foreclosure prevention services including pro bono representation at settlement conferences. Without HOPP and its network of organizations, compliance with these mandates would not be possible. Social Justice Impact: Racial disparities in mortgage costs have led to higher rates of fore- closure on homeowners of color. A study by the Center for Responsible Lending found that Black and Latino families lose their homes at about twice the rate of White families.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.