Image credit: New York City Council.
On June 14, 2025, the City Council passed multiple bills and two resolutions to support tenants displaced from their homes by emergencies like fires or natural disasters, referred to as the “Back Home Act.” After these disasters, residents are often left with little to no belongings, and often struggle to get reestablished in a new home. Displacement from a home can also mean displacement from a community, school, and other local connections.
Int. 607-A requires the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to relocate tenants who lose their homes because of fires or similar emergencies in the same or immediately adjacent community district. If a vacant accommodation is unavailable in that same or adjacent community district, the agency will relocated the tenant to the nearest available accommodation within the nearest community district within that same borough. The bill was sponsored by Council Member Shekar Krishnan.
Int. 749-A requires the Mayor to designate an agency or office to give centralized support to residents who are displaced from their homes due to fire, natural disaster, or other emergency that impacts a residential building. That designated agency will serve as a point of contact and respond to requests for assistance and facilitate communication between residents and relevant agencies. The designated agency must also notify residents and the relevant community board when a building is safe to reoccupy. This bill was sponsored by Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez.
Int. 750-A requires the Department of Buildings to report on how long it takes for certain violations in residential buildings to be corrected. The time measured is from when Buildings issued to the violation to when the agency accepted the correction. When a property owner has been issued a vacate order and wants to demolish the building, the bill also requires the owner to submit documentation about steps taken to correct unresolved violations connected to the vacate order before proceeding. This bill was sponsored by Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez.
Resolution 307 calls on the State Legislature to pass legislation to limit the time in which landlords can collect payment from loss of rents insurance coverage without conducting meaningful repairs to an uninhabitable unit leased by a tenant down to three months. This would encourage landlords to complete repairs faster to speed up the time it would take to get a displaced tenant back in their unit. This resolution was sponsored by Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez.
Resolution 802 calls on the State Legislature to pass S.3886/A.5427, which requires the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to help displaced residents find a comparable living situation. The bill also requires building owners found responsible for a fire to cover the costs of a temporary apartment for displaced residents until the building repairs are completed. This resolution was sponsored by Council Member Julie Won.
Council Member Krishnan stated, “New Yorkers displaced by the increasing reality of climate change emergencies like fires or floods deserve to stay in the communities they love. The New York City Council reaffirmed its commitment to keeping communities together by passing Int. 607, legislation that ensures, when disaster strikes, New Yorkers remain in their same community district, allowing their children to attend the same school, to keep the same commute to work, and to be close to their neighbors.”
Council Member Gutiérrez stated, “The Back Home Act is about turning chaos into clarity. After a fire or disaster, too many New Yorkers are left in the dark—no updates, no guidance, no path forward. This bill changes that. It puts real systems in place: QR-coded recovery guides on fire trucks, case navigators to track progress, and stronger rules to make sure landlords don’t delay repairs. We’re finally treating disaster recovery like the urgent, coordinated response it should be—and giving families the support they’ve always deserved.”
Council Member Won stated, “We continue to see the same pattern across the city. After fires caused by landlord negligence, tenants are left without homes or support. In my district, over 250 tenants were displaced in 2023 after a fire caused by A&E Real Estate. he building is still empty and unrepaired. I’m grateful that Res. 802, my resolution calling on Albany to pass S.3886/A.5427 passed today. It would require landlords to cover temporary housing for displaced tenants. Along with the Back Home Act, this will ensure that tenants are not left homeless for a fire they did not cause.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the Editor of CityLand and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)