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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 24, 2023 03:42 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Sara Innamorato and Rep. Carol Hill-Evans, Rep. Morgan Cephas |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Community Opportunity to Purchase For-Sale Housing (COPA) |
| Safe and reliable housing is a basic human right. Tenants should not fear displacement when property owners offer their building for sale. Instead, local governments should be empowered to further invest in attainable housing stock by establishing programs allowing tenants and designated not-for-profit entities the first opportunity to purchase for-sale rental housing. Our legislation will allow municipalities to adopt local programs which would allow for tenants and/or a designated public or qualified nonprofit to make a first offer to purchase a building with tenants if the property owner decides to sell. This right allows tenants to form a registered tenants’ association to purchase the property and requires property owners to offer the property at a price and terms representing a bona fide offer of sale. If the tenants pass on this right, the right of first refusal would next pass to the municipality where the property is located. This policy is aimed at stabilizing households and neighborhoods facing displacement by keeping properties under the ownership of local individuals or the municipality or housing authority. It will ensure that the Commonwealth’s housing investments remain under Pennsylvania ownership, not under a distant, out-of-state landlord. By widening the commonwealth’s social safety net to ensure that tenants remain in their homes, we will preserve existing affordable housing stock, bolster the economy, and combat displacement at a time when so many of our neighbors face it. By helping tenants attain the reality of the American dream of homeownership, we can preserve and revitalize housing across the Commonwealth while sustaining healthy communities. We hope you will join us in supporting this important housing initiative. |