Resolution and enforcement of property tax collection and preservation of housing for certain properties.

The bill would increase the frequency by which the Department of Finance (DOF) must notify owners of real property of any and all real property tax liens they have, as well as inform owners on how to learn what liens the Department of Environmental Protection may have issued for nonpayment of sewer or water rents or sewer surcharges. The bill would prohibit the sale of tax liens on vacant land that has been determined undevelopable by a Mayor-determined agency. The bill would require the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) to conduct Housing Maintenance Code inspections of certain Class 2 multiple dwellings that have appeared on the tax lien sale list at least twice over a four-year period, and for DOF to provide a list of such properties to HPD before conducting a lien sale. The bill would authorize the DOF Commissioner to conduct a sale of tax liens through and including December 31, 2028, as well as make substantive reforms to the tax lien sale process. The bill codifies and expands various reporting requirements to the Council, including additional information about status and debts of properties whose liens have been sold to the various City created Trusts as well as various documents and agreements that govern the Trusts. The bill increases and fixes the property tax and interest deferral (PT AID) payment plan income threshold to match that of the Enhanced STAR threshold and increases how much property tax may be deferred under PT AID. The bill also creates a new type of PT AID payment plan that mirrors elements of the circuit breaker proposed by the Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform whereby an owner who pays more than 10 percent of their income may defer the amount above that percentage, so long as the remaining payments are not less than $1,500 a year. The bill would establish an “Easy Exit” program, where owners of certain Class 1 properties and condominium units can request DOF remove their home from the tax lien sale up to three times within a 36-month period, as of right. The bill would allow owners of non-condo/co-op Class 1 properties in severe financial distress to, after consulting with an attorney, voluntarily partner with a Qualified Preservation Purchaser (QPP) whereby existing debt would be extinguished and title to the property will be transferred to the QPP. In turn, the QPP provides the property owner a long-term affordable lease which can be passed on to heirs and allows for the former homeowner to recoup any equity they held in the property. The bill establishes a 10-member task force of Mayoral and Council appointees to examine and devise ways delinquent City property tax could be collected fairly and effectively without the sale of tax liens.