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Council backs "Back Home" tenant protections and state requests for fire-displaced residents
Summary
The council approved a resolution urging state legislation to require homeowner/building owner responsibility for temporary housing for tenants displaced by fire and passed a package of city bills aimed at assisting displaced residents.
The New York City Council passed a package aimed at strengthening support for residents displaced from their homes by fires and other emergencies. Resolution 8-02 called on the New York State Legislature and the governor to pass bills requiring the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to assist residents displaced by fire and requiring building owners found responsible for a fire that resulted in vacate orders to cover temporary apartment costs; the resolution passed by voice vote.
Speaker Adrienne Adams and multiple sponsors described the package as the "Back Home" Act. Councilmember Jennifer Gutierrez sponsored related measures aimed at limiting how long landlords can rely on loss-of-rent insurance payments without conducting repairs; Resolution 3-07 calls on the state to limit collection of loss-of-rent insurance payments without meaningful repairs to three months.
Other items in the package included bills to publish timing on Department of Buildings corrections, designate a single agency to provide centralized support to displaced residents and require HPD to relocate tenants within the same or adjacent community district upon request where possible. The council noted the measures are intended to provide clearer responsibility and coordination when residents lose housing due to fires or emergencies.
The resolutions and related local bills were adopted as recorded in the council’s general orders and voice-vote proceedings. Sponsors said the package responds to recurring issues faced by tenants displaced by emergencies and seeks to create clearer, faster assistance and accountability among city and state actors.
