In Win For New York Homeowners, New York Legislature Makes Permanent Program That Helps Homeowners Fight Foreclosures, Scams, Deed Thefts

New York, NY (June 7, 2024) – In a win for distressed homeowners across New York State, the New York Legislature this week passed SS7297A/A7636A, a bill sponsored by State Sen. Brian Kavanagh and Assembly Member Michaelle Solages that enshrines the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) into state law.

HOPP is the state’s only program that provides free legal help and housing counseling to thousands of homeowners targeted by mortgage fraud, scams and foreclosures in every county of the state. Despite the program’s effectiveness, HOPP providers must lobby the Governor and state legislators for funding every year or face elimination of the program, putting thousands of homeowners at risk of displacement by scammers and deed thefts. This bill now codifies the administration of this important program into law.

Below is a joint statement from Jacob Inwald, Director of Litigation – Economic Justice at Legal Services NYC; Jim Dukette, HOPP Anchor Program Director at Empire Justice Center; and Kevin Wolfe, Deputy Director, Advocacy & Public Affairs at the Center for NYC Neighborhoods on the bill’s passage:

“Now more than ever, with foreclosure risks and scams on the rise, the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) is essential in fighting displacement, gentrification, and the hollowing out of communities of color in New York. After decades of exclusionary redlining and predatory loans by big banks, vulnerable homeowners continue to be targeted by bad actors. Last year alone, HOPP assisted more than 20,000 distressed New York homeowners — protecting their rights in court, lowering their bill payments and preventing avoidable foreclosures with home-saving solutions that benefit homeowners, lenders, and local governments. We thank the bills’ sponsors, Senator Kavanagh and Assemblymember Solages, along with every champion in the state legislature, for making this program permanent and for recognizing HOPP as the most effective tool to prevent deed theft and other scams targeting vulnerable homeowners. We look forward to Governor Hochul signing the bill, which is a critical component of New York State’s housing strategy.” 

About the Homeowner Protection Program: 

The Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) was established in 2012 to provide legal services and housing counseling to New York homeowners at risk of losing their homes. Originally funded by the state’s bank settlement funds, the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) is comprised of 89 non-profit housing counseling and legal service providers across the state and helps struggling homeowners keep their homes by fighting deed theft and mortgage fraud scams, helping homeowners apply for grants and loan modifications and resolve tax liens, representing homeowners in court and finding alternative housing when they can no longer stay in their homes.

Over 150,000 families have been helped by HOPP. Last year alone, more than 20,000 people received assistance from the program—protecting their rights in court, lowering their bill payments and preventing avoidable foreclosures with home-saving solutions that benefit homeowners, lenders and local governments.

The need for HOPP is great. 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 the model for the nation for homeownership preservation services because it funds legal services providers and housing counseling agencies to work in collaboration. Without housing counselors working as equal partners with legal services advocates, HOPP not only loses what makes it unique but also the expertise of hundreds of committed professionals providing services in every county in New York.

HOPP is also cost-effective, in large part because it stabilizes communities and preserves property values on which local government revenues depend. Historically, each $1 million invested in HOPP yields a return of over $5 million in tax and property cost savings. 

Learn more at https://homeownerhelpny.org/.

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