‘Setup for Failure’: Tenants and Officials Blast City’s Rent-to-Own Program
(DNAINFO) Dartunorro Clark | May 3, 2017 — City officials offered a mea culpa regarding a longtime rent-to-own program that has been labeled a failure by tenants— admitting that the program became “unsustainable” after its launch nearly 40 years ago.
Officials from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development were put in the hot seat Thursday at a marathon City Council oversight hearing to answer questions related to the beleaguered city housing program that is currently under investigation.
Officials from HPD offered some concessions and promised reforms related to the Tenant Interim Lease (TIL) program, which was meant to be a pathway for renters in city-owned buildings to purchase their units for just $250.