(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is vowing to crack down on deed theft in the Big Apple with the creation of a new office devoted to investigating complaints by homeowners and intervening in eviction cases.
The new Office of Deed Theft Prevention, unveiled on Friday, will work with other agencies like the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and the Commission on Human Rights, Mamdani said. It will focus on investigating deed theft claims, educating homeowners about protecting their assets, and also helping people recoup money lost to deed theft.
“The theft of a home is the theft of a family’s future,” Mamdani said Friday. “Deed theft preys on the New Yorkers who can least afford it. Today, we are bringing the full force of city government to bear to stop it – to protect homeowners, defend generational wealth and make clear that this city will not tolerate the exploitation of our communities.”
The anti-deed theft office was a key campaign pledge for Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has also vowed to freeze rent in taxpayers’ subsidized housing. He vowed on the campaign trail to create the new office and fund it with $10 million. His preliminary budget proposal, which is being considered by the City Council, calls for spending about $500,000 on the office in the coming fiscal year.
His announcement comes just days after New York City Councilman Chi Ossé was arrested outside a Bedford-Stuyvesant home while trying to block the eviction of a resident who claimed she was the rightful owner.
His arrest was panned by some as a political stunt, and Attorney General Leticia James later acknowledged that the dispute was not a case of deed theft. But city officials say it highlighted the growing problem of investors using unscrupulous tactics to cheat people out of their homes, which they say disproportionately affects minority communities.
City and state officials fielded more than 3,500 complaints of deed theft between 2014 and 2023, according to Ossé, who joined other Democratic councilors in sending a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this year calling for state protections for homeowners.
“While scammers continue to prey on vulnerable homeowners, our city lacks the necessary resources to prevent, investigate, and prosecute crimes of deed theft,” the lawmakers wrote. “This leaves homeowners vulnerable and at risk of losing their homes through evictions.”
