Statewide Network that Prevents Foreclosures Left Out of Hochul’s Budget

NEW YORK, NY (January 17, 2024) – New York’s Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) — a network of 89 nonprofits that provide free housing counseling and legal services to New Yorkers facing threats to homeownership — is extremely disappointed that Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet again left funding for this crucial program out of her budget plan.

 
While Gov. Hochul has unveiled plans to build new housing, the current budget fails to include critical protections needed to keep homeowners facing foreclosure in their homes.

Below is a statement from Jacob Inwald, Director of Litigation– Economic Justice at Legal Services NYC:

“It is short-sighted to eliminate funding for a program that preserves existing homeownership when New Yorkers across the state face foreclosure and a housing affordability crisis. We are tremendously frustrated that we have to battle to fund this network when it is more needed than ever before.”
 
HOPP’s caseload doubled in the prior fiscal year, and with foreclosures on the rise, the families we serve in every county desperately need our help. New York’s mortgage default rates remain at record high levels, especially in communities of color, where those rates are more than double those for white homeowners.

HOPP is not only cost-effective, in large part because it stabilizes communities and preserves property values on which local government revenues depend. The program also preserves homeownership and prevents displacement and gentrification in the Black and Brown communities historically targeted for predatory lending.

We again are calling on Gov. Hochul to fully fund HOPP at $40 million so that families across New York will have the best possible protections against foreclosures, illegal displacements, and predatory deed thefts.

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For more information on the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP), visit https://homeownerhelpny.org/