Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
DCD says lease-to-own program cannot continue in current form under new statute; existing tenants can remain
Loading...
Summary
Department of City Development staff told the committee the city must end the lease-to-own program as it currently operates because the new state law changes disposition rules; tenants currently occupying program properties may remain as long as they pay rent and are advised to seek preapproval if they intend to repurchase.
Deborah McCollum Gathing, residential property disposition manager for the Department of City Development, told the Judiciary and Legislation Committee that the city’s lease-to-own program cannot operate in its current form under the new state statute stemming from Act 207.
When asked whether tenants queued in the program can remain in place, McCollum Gathing said tenants may continue to occupy the properties and should pursue mortgage preapproval if they want to exercise a first right to repurchase when the city is ready to list. She added that two participants previously in the program are no longer enrolled, and at the time of the meeting there were no households formally enrolled in the lease-to-own pipeline.
DCD staff said rent collection will continue; rent income covers occupancy and does not alter the surplus calculation for former owners under the statute.
No formal action was taken; staff will adjust program procedures as they finalize the ordinance and implement listing rules required by the statute.
