New York City’s low-income homeowners are facing an unprecedented storm of challenges right now. The city’s affordability crisis is only the start – energy and water bills are rising, predatory scammers are targeting vulnerable homeowners and increased extreme weather events are leading to higher maintenance costs.
And on top of all of that, on June 3, New York City will have a tax lien sale. The tax lien sale is how the city collects unpaid debts, such as property taxes, or sewer and water bills. The city sells these unpaid liens to private collection agencies, who can then add fees and interest onto the debt and push New Yorkers into foreclosure if payments remain unresolved. The city puts money in its coffers and collection agencies get a windfall, but low-income homeowners suffer.
Since its implementation, the sale has disproportionately impacted single family homeowners struggling with affordability, especially in Black and brown neighborhoods, uprooting long-standing community members and driving up living costs. Thousands of New Yorkers whose families have struggled to pay their outstanding property taxes due to financial hardship are going to face potential foreclosure and displacement.
Even homeowners who ultimately resolve their lien have a target put on their back for future scams. Deed theft, for example, occurs when the title to a home is taken from a homeowner through deceit or predatory lending practices and without the homeowner’s knowledge or approval. Scammers prey on vulnerable residents like seniors, immigrants, people of color and low income families – the same folks who tend to be on the tax liens sale. That means their mere presence on the public tax liens sale list puts them at further risk.
All together, New York City’s low- and moderate-income homeowners are facing many challenges, which are threatening to push out community members who have lived in their neighborhoods for generations To help address these threats and keep New Yorkers in their homes and communities, it is essential that we provide at-risk homeowners facing the specter of displacement with easy and accessible support to guide them through these mounting and evolving challenges.
That’s where New York City and the Center for NYC Neighborhoods’ Homeowner Help Desk comes in. We are a one-stop resource, funded by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, for the questions and needs of homeowners, and can direct people to the support they need. Last year, the Help Desk aided over 5,000 homeowners through the complex web of financial and legal issues that lead to housing instability. By providing free financial and legal counseling, connecting individuals with resources to address maintenance and repair issues, and aiding in protection from fraudulent practices, the Help Desk support is a critical lifeline for New Yorkers.
Take a homeowner who recently received the notice that their property was listed in the tax lien sale. Determined to get removed as soon as possible, they went to an in-person event with the Homeowner Help Desk the very same day. There, the homeowner met a staffer, who provided clear direction and support alongside the NYC Department of Finance on how to remove themselves from the sale. As a result of both showing up to an in-person outreach event and getting connected to a legal counselor, they were officially removed from the tax lien sale on that same day. That’s just one story of how our team is helping New Yorkers maintain their homes and livelihoods in the communities they know and love.
In the face of overwhelming challenges, New Yorker homeowners should know that they do not have to face their battles alone. If you're a homeowner trying to get off the tax liens sale, have experienced flooding in your property and can’t afford to pay for critical repairs, have a weird feeling about someone who's offering to buy your home– or anything in between – give the Help Desk a call. You can reach us at 1-855-HOME-456, and we’ll be there to support you.
Jovan Ellis is a help desk program manager at the Center for NYC Neighborhoods.
