City Council convenes hearing on deed theft prevention strategies

November 19, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CITY HALL — CITY COUNCIL WAS SET TO HOLD A HEARING ON DEED THEFT and legislation to tackle it, starting at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19. The Council’s Committees on Aging and Consumer and Worker Protection will hold a joint oversight hearing on deed theft, which occurs when someone illegally transfers ownership of a property by falsifying documents, forging signatures or using other deceptive tactics. Prompting the hearing is a rise in property related scams have been on the rise in recent years due to several factors including the 2008 foreclosure crisis, the significant rise in property values and additional financial strains that the COVID-19 pandemic caused.

The committees will also hear related legislation stemming from Speaker Adrienne Adams’ State of the City Address, in which she identified combating deed theft as a top priority for the Council. The hearing is also expected to include information about the effectiveness of current protections and enforcement measures to safeguard older adult homeowners from fraudulent property transfers. Specific legislation that Councilmember Crystal Hudson (D-35) is initiating, Introduction 888, would require disclosures of the market value for unsolicited offers to purchase residential properties.

Statistics show that Black and Latino homeownership communities have disproportionately been targeted by predatory financial schemes that threaten the loss of prized assets and the transfer of hard-earned wealth within families.

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