Predatory Equity Law Calls for “Speculation Watch List”

New York City’s new Predatory Equity law (Intro 1210-A) targets rent-regulated apartment buildings that have recently sold where tenants are at risk of displacement due to potentially predatory investors.

The City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development will publish a “Speculation Watch List” of these buildings. The first list will come out within 10 months. The City can then target those buildings with tenant legal support and closer monitoring to protect tenants.

“This new Speculation Watch List uses data to capture the signs of potential harassment and distress, and help protect residents from the threat of predatory investment,” said Maria Torres-Springer, commissioner of HPD. It’s just the latest of a string of actions meant to protect rent-regulated apartments.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact our New York commercial real estate editor Bendix Anderson