L
andlords are struggling to grasp the Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), a bill that would give tenants an exclusive chance to buy their landlord's building before it goes on the market. Despite its annual appearance in the state legislature, TOPA has yet to come up for a vote. However, it resurfaced recently when Comptroller Brad Lander and Sen. Zellnor Myrie rallied with tenant activists at 63 Tiffany Place, a Brooklyn rental building.

    Opponents of the bill argue that it would disrupt the normal sale process and delay potential sales for an unlikely outcome – tenants successfully purchasing and owning the property. They also point out that tenants already have opportunities to buy their buildings, citing the case of 63 Tiffany Place where tenants negotiated with landlord Irving Langer to sell or transfer ownership to a friendly nonprofit due to concerns about rent increases.

    Housing Justice for All claims that Langer has "walked away from the table," but even if TOPA passed, he could still do so. The bill's impact on his decision-making is unclear. Furthermore, 63 Tiffany Place is an unusual target for activists, given its unique circumstances – 15 of its 70 units are rent-stabilized, and tenants with permanently low rents have no reason to become owners or pay an equal share of the building's mortgage and maintenance costs.

    Landlord Langer has been participating in a government program that has kept rents at 63 Tiffany Place low for 30 years. The agreement is set to expire next year, but it's not his obligation to sell below market value. If landlords are dragged through the mud when subsidies run out, fewer will participate in such programs – an outcome detrimental to tenants.

    Tenant John Leyva says, "We deserve the right to stay and age in place." Langer likely believes he deserves the right to sell without government interference.