What's happening
This bill creates a "Condominium Owner Bill of Rights," guaranteeing transparency, voting, and financial protections for large condo associations.
Why it matters
Mandates detailed financial transparency. Condo associations with 3,500+ units must provide unit owners with comprehensive financial records—including expenditures, capital improvements, bidding processes, and meeting minutes—promptly upon request, increasing accountability and reducing risk of mismanagement.
Establishes clear and timely decision-making. Boards must process owner applications and resolve disputes under written, uniform procedures and timetables, with written explanations for decisions, helping owners avoid unnecessary delays and uncertainty.
Strengthens owner voting rights and board accountability. Requires quick filling of board vacancies, public posting of election results, and mandates that board members who sell their units resign promptly, ensuring boards remain representative and minimizing conflicts of interest.
Limits on extraordinary expenses. Owners are given a voice in setting spending limits for the association, and boards cannot commit to major unplanned expenses without owner approval (except emergencies or refinancing), providing owners with greater control over financial exposure.
State enforcement and owner education. The Attorney General is empowered to investigate compliance and publish a handbook on owner rights and enforcement mechanisms, giving owners both information and a path to address abuses.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Condo Owners Get More Rights
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 32
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to judiciary
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to housing
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- Ordered to third reading cal.1474
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to judiciary
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Protect Condo Owners' Rights
In Assembly Committee · Housing · Sponsor Karines Reyes
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1751
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 16, 2019
Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to creating a residential condominium owner bill of rights
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 339-ll to read as follows:
§ 339-ll. Residential condominium owner's bill of rights. The organizational and operating documents of a not-for-profit residential condominium association established or operating pursuant to the laws of the state and managing the common charges, elements, expenses, or profits of thirty-five hundred or more units shall guarantee the following rights to each unit owner.
1. The right to transparency. Complete and accurate financial statements, reports of hired accountants and consultants on behalf of the association, reports by municipal or county inspectors, and approved minutes of the board of managers' meetings shall be available for review within a timely fashion of a request to review, inspect, or copy. Any financial statements, reports, or minutes ordinarily provided to unit owners shall be provided in a timely fashion pursuant to established timetables. In addition to any other notice required, the approved minutes of all board and unit owner meetings shall be posted in a prominent place accessible to all unit owners in each building comprising the condominium within one day of their approval. For the purposes of this subdivision, "financial statements" shall include a complete accounting for all expenditures, capital improvements, or anything in excess of the contingency fund including the budget, a comparison of any and all bidding processes for work to be done on the condominium including work that was conducted and the amounts of the contributions of each owner whether individual or group sponsored, billings, estimates, overages,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07269-01-9
S. 1751 2
and proof of the expenditures that comprise the total of the surcharge and minutes of each meeting where the planning and voting on the proposal was discussed with all the owners, for any and all expenditures not made in the ordinary course of business, bank account and financial investment statements, and the association's IRS form nine-hundred-ninety, if applicable, for each of the three most current fiscal years.
2. The right to timely decisions. All applications by unit owners in connection with matters which require approval of the board of managers and all requests for determinations by the board of managers including, but not limited to, requests for the resolution of disputes between or among unit owners, disputes between unit owners and the condominium association such as disputes concerning responsibility for repairs shall be processed in a reasonably expeditious manner pursuant to uniform procedures and timetables adopted in writing. The board's decision shall be in writing and shall set forth the reasons therefor, except that no reason shall be required when approval is granted.
3. Voting rights. (a) The board of managers shall call a meeting to fill any vacancies which occur on such board within sixty days of the occurrence of such vacancy if the vacancy occurs more than six months prior to the annual meeting of unit owners.
(b) The final results of elections for the board of managers including a tally of the votes received by each candidate shall be posted within one business day following the availability of such information in a prominent place accessible to all unit owners in each building comprising the condominium.
(c) Any member of a board of managers who is elected while a unit owner in the condominium, who sells his or her apartment, and who, subsequent to such sale shall no longer be a unit owner in such condominium, shall resign from such board no later than the closing date of such sale.
4. The right to notice. In addition to any other notice required, notice of all board and unit owner meetings shall be posted in a prominent place accessible to all unit owners in each building comprising the condominium.
5. The right against extraordinary expenses. No less than once in every five years the board shall propose expense limits which shall be included in the notice of the annual or any other meeting of the unit owners. An opportunity for unit owners to comment on such proposal and to offer lower expense limits shall be included in the agenda for such meeting. At the conclusion of the comment period the board shall, by an open vote, adopt expense limits not to exceed those proposed by the board which shall be effective until changed. Once approved by vote, the board shall not enter into contracts for extraordinary expenses without approval of the unit owners, unless it is deemed to be an emergency or is required for refinancing of the mortgage.
6. The attorney general is authorized to enforce the provisions of this section and may, upon his or her own initiative, or in response to a complaint by one or more unit owners, investigate allegations of any failure to comply with the provisions hereof.
§ 2. Within six months of the effective date of this act the attorney general shall promulgate a handbook summarizing the rights of unit owners vis-a-vis condominium associations and the procedures and processes available to unit owners to enforce such rights.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that as to residential condominium associations existing and operating as such on the effective date of this act the boards of managers of such
S. 1751 3
associations shall within one year of the effective date of this act take all steps necessary to amend the appropriate organizational and operating documents of such associations to implement the provisions of this act.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the real property law, in relation to creating a resi- dential condominium owner bill of rights
Purpose
To amend provisions in the not-for-profit corporation law, general busi- ness law, and real property law in relation to the enactment of a resi- dential condominium owner's bill of rights
Summary of provisions
This bill will also enact a bill of rights for owners of residential condominium units with respect to managing the common charges, elements, expenses, or profits of thirty five hundred or more units. This bill will provide condo-owners both privately owned and not-for-profit condo- minium associations the right to transparency which includes the right for condo unit owners to review a complete accounting for all expendi- tures, capital improvement and or anything in excess of the contingency fund including the budget, a comparison of any and all bidding processes for work to be done in the condominium including work that was conducted and the amounts of contributions of each owner whether individual or group sponsors, billings estimates overages and proof of the expendi- tures that comprise the total of the surcharge and minutes of each meet- ing where the planning and voting on the proposal was discussed with all owners and for any and all expenditures not made in the ordinary course of business.
Read the full memo (789 words)
This bill will also require for the Condominium Board of any not-for- profit condominium board to make available for inspection and review to all condo unit owners the IRS Form 990 when they are filed annually.
This bill would require that all applications and requests by condomin- ium owners that require approval by the board of managers regarding disputes between owners and the condominium association be processed in a reasonably expeditious manner pursuant to uniform procedures and time- tables adopted in writing.
The final results of elections for the board of managers would be required to be posted in a prominent location within one business day following the availability of such information.
The board of managers would be required to call a meeting within sixty days of a vacancy to fill a vacancy if it occurs more than six months prior to the annual unit owners meeting.
The bill would require any board member, who sells his or her apartment and is no longer a unit holder in the condominium, to resign from the board no later than the closing date of such sale.
Furthermore, the bill would ensure that accurate financial statements and other statements normally provided to unit owners of privately owned and not-for-profit condominiums would need to be provided in a timely fashion.
The bill would require that proper documentation be made available for inspection or copying by unit owners; including approved minutes of board of managers meetings; accurate records of the receipts and expend- itures arising from the operation of the property; bank account and financial investment statements; proposals received for bids on goods and services for the condominium; reports of hired accountants and consultants on behalf of the association and reports by municipal or county inspectors concerning health, building, and safety codes and regulations.
The bill would require that a notice of all condominium board meetings be posted in a prominent location.
The bill would direct the board members to propose expense limits every five years. The board would be prohibited from, by vote, entering into contracts for extraordinary expenses without approval of the unit owners, unless it is deemed to be an emergency or doing so is required for refinancing the mortgage.
Finally, the bill directs the attorney general to update the handbook summary of the rights of condominium owners vis-a-vis condominium asso- ciations and the procedures and processes available to unit owners to enforce such rights.
The Attorney General would be authorized to enforce the provisions of this section.
Existing law
The current law in the State does not sufficiently protect the condo owners/residents of both privately owned and not for profit condo boards.
Justification
Too many condo boards do not provide sufficient transparency and disclo- sure of their records, fostering ill will among condo owners. This bill is an incentive for condominium management and their boards to be fully accountable so that condominium ownership will be profitable, manageable and stable.
Legislative history
N/A
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that as to residential condominium associations existing and operating as such on the effective date of this act the boards of managers of such associ- ations shall within one year of the effective date of this act take all steps necessary to amend the appropriate organizational and operating documents of such associations to implement the provisions of this act.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.