Sale of tax liens.

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York in relation to the sale of tax liens

This bill would reauthorize the City’s authority to sell tax liens for one year after the enactment of the local law. This bill would also, among other things: 1) create a COVID-19 exemption for calendar year 2021 for certain Class 1, 2 or 4 properties, provided that the property owner owns 10 or fewer units, one of which is the owner’s primary residence, and such owner submits a hardship declaration to the Department of Finance stating that they are experiencing a COVID-related financial hardship; 2) increase the property tax debt eligibility threshold for Class 1 and residential condominium and cooperative properties to $5,000, 3) increase the water debt eligibility threshold for 2- and 3-family homes to $3,000, 4) increase the income eligibility threshold for the Department of Finance’s Property Tax and Interest Deferral (PTAID) Program to $86,400, 5) introduce a process to establish a property tax late payment interest rate for properties with an assessed value between $250,000 and $450,000, 6) mandate certain outreach sessions to be conducted by the Administration during the tax lien sale notice period, and 7) establish a temporary task force to to ensure that the City’s enforcement of delinquent municipal charges is fair, effective, and efficient and to study the feasibility of transferring properties with delinquent property taxes, sewer and water rents subject to a lien to community land trusts, land banks, mutual housing associations or other similar entities.