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City rolls out tax-sale deferral, legacy-homeowner pilot and heirs registry to protect long-time residents
Summary
DHCD described a $2 million-a-year tax-sale deferral program and a new Legacy Homeowner pilot (launch July 1 FY27) to pay down debt for qualifying seniors, plus an heirs-property registry and expanded homeowner repair and renter-to-owner supports.
Deputy Commissioner Nicole Hart presented the committee with new tax-sale prevention tools, homeowner protections and a suite of programs aimed at keeping long-time residents in their homes.
Hart said the city operates a Tax Sale Deferral Program with a $2 million annual set-aside to remove eligible properties from the tax-sale list; eligibility in the current program is limited to primary residences valued at $250,000 or less with income limits or age/disability criteria. "In FY25 we had 268 people apply and removed 110 homes," Hart said; as of the most recent tally the portal had more applications and partial removals in process.
Hart also described the Legacy Homeowner pilot, scheduled to begin July 1 of FY27, which is intended to pay down tax debt for qualifying long-term homeowners (65+ years old; primary residence 10+ years; household income thresholds apply). The department will use the Tax Sale Deferral portal to identify and prioritize applicants for the new pilot and will coordinate outreach with the Mayor's Office for Community Affairs.
On heirs property, Hart said the city will launch a state-mandated heirs-property registry in FY27 to register and identify family-owned parcels that were not transferred by will; the registry will support legal services referrals and help owners obtain clear title so properties can qualify for repair, sale or transfer programs.
The session also reviewed repair and emergency assistance programs: DHCD said it supplied roughly $6 million in capital for home repairs in FY26, $9.95 million in HUD lead remediation funding, and $5.7 million in state weatherization grants. The department described a no-heat pipeline used during winter months to expedite HVAC work and the Office of Integrated Client Services' crisis-relocation and mortgage/homeowner assistance pilots that use leftover federal CDBG-CV funds to prevent displacement.
Councilmembers urged more aggressive, targeted outreach to repeat tax-sale cases and asked for clearer metrics on program performance and the timeline from application to debt relief. Hart and staff said they would provide counts and cross-portal analysis and that the administration is standing up case-management and community outreach partnerships to scale assistance.
The committee asked for follow-up reports on legacy-pilot enrollment, the heirs registry launch timetable, and a crosswalk of tax-sale removals to subsequent repair or mortgage assistance outcomes.
