Bill Text: NY S03320 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates a residential condominium owner's bill of rights that includes the right to transparency, the right to timely decisions, voting rights, the right to notice, and the right against extraordinary expenses.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-08 - referred to housing [S03320 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S03320-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3320

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 30, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  SEPULVEDA,  LIU,  RAMOS -- read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on  Judici-
          ary

        AN  ACT  to amend the real property law, in relation to creating a resi-
          dential condominium owner bill of rights

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  real property law is amended by adding a new section
     2  339-mm to read as follows:
     3    § 339-mm. Residential condominium owner's bill of rights.  The  organ-
     4  izational and operating documents of a not-for-profit residential condo-
     5  minium  association established or operating pursuant to the laws of the
     6  state and managing the common charges, elements, expenses, or profits of
     7  thirty-five hundred or more units shall guarantee the  following  rights
     8  to each unit owner.
     9    1.  The  right to transparency. Complete and accurate financial state-
    10  ments, reports of hired accountants and consultants  on  behalf  of  the
    11  association,  reports  by  municipal  or county inspectors, and approved
    12  minutes of the board of managers' meetings shall be available for review
    13  within a timely fashion of a request to review, inspect,  or  copy.  Any
    14  financial  statements,  reports,  or minutes ordinarily provided to unit
    15  owners shall be provided in a timely  fashion  pursuant  to  established
    16  timetables.  In  addition  to  any  other  notice required, the approved
    17  minutes of all board and unit owner meetings shall be posted in a promi-
    18  nent place accessible to all unit owners in each building comprising the
    19  condominium within one day of their approval. For the purposes  of  this
    20  subdivision,  "financial statements" shall include a complete accounting
    21  for all expenditures, capital improvements, or anything in excess of the
    22  contingency fund including the budget,  a  comparison  of  any  and  all
    23  bidding  processes for work to be done on the condominium including work
    24  that was conducted and the amounts of the contributions  of  each  owner

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07972-01-3
        S. 3320                             2

     1  whether  individual  or  group sponsored, billings, estimates, overages,
     2  and proof of the expenditures that comprise the total of  the  surcharge
     3  and  minutes  of  each  meeting  where  the  planning  and voting on the
     4  proposal was discussed with all the owners, for any and all expenditures
     5  not  made in the ordinary course of business, bank account and financial
     6  investment statements, and the association's IRS form nine-hundred-nine-
     7  ty, if applicable, for each of the three most current fiscal years.
     8    2. The right to timely decisions. All applications by unit  owners  in
     9  connection  with matters which require approval of the board of managers
    10  and all requests for determinations by the board of managers  including,
    11  but  not  limited to, requests for the resolution of disputes between or
    12  among unit owners, disputes between  unit  owners  and  the  condominium
    13  association such as disputes concerning responsibility for repairs shall
    14  be  processed  in  a  reasonably  expeditious manner pursuant to uniform
    15  procedures and timetables adopted in writing. The board's decision shall
    16  be in writing and shall set forth the reasons therefor, except  that  no
    17  reason shall be required when approval is granted.
    18    3.  Voting rights.   (a) The board of managers shall call a meeting to
    19  fill any vacancies which occur on such board within sixty  days  of  the
    20  occurrence  of  such  vacancy if the vacancy occurs more than six months
    21  prior to the annual meeting of unit owners.
    22    (b) The final results of elections for the board of managers including
    23  a tally of the votes received by each candidate shall be  posted  within
    24  one  business  day  following  the availability of such information in a
    25  prominent place accessible to all unit owners in each building  compris-
    26  ing the condominium.
    27    (c)  Any  member  of  a  board of managers who is elected while a unit
    28  owner in the condominium, who sells  his  or  her  apartment,  and  who,
    29  subsequent  to  such sale shall no longer be a unit owner in such condo-
    30  minium, shall resign from such board no later than the closing  date  of
    31  such sale.
    32    4.  The  right  to  notice.  In addition to any other notice required,
    33  notice of all board and unit owner meetings shall be posted in a  promi-
    34  nent place accessible to all unit owners in each building comprising the
    35  condominium.
    36    5.  The  right  against  extraordinary  expenses. No less than once in
    37  every five years the board shall propose expense limits which  shall  be
    38  included  in  the  notice of the annual or any other meeting of the unit
    39  owners. An opportunity for unit owners to comment on such  proposal  and
    40  to  offer  lower expense limits shall be included in the agenda for such
    41  meeting.  At the conclusion of the comment period the board shall, by an
    42  open vote, adopt expense limits not to  exceed  those  proposed  by  the
    43  board which shall be effective until changed. Once approved by vote, the
    44  board  shall not enter into contracts for extraordinary expenses without
    45  approval of the unit owners, unless it is deemed to be an  emergency  or
    46  is required for refinancing of the mortgage.
    47    6.  The  attorney  general  is authorized to enforce the provisions of
    48  this section and may, upon his or her own initiative, or in response  to
    49  a  complaint  by one or more unit owners, investigate allegations of any
    50  failure to comply with the provisions hereof.
    51    § 2. Within six months of the effective date of this act the  attorney
    52  general  shall  promulgate  a  handbook  summarizing  the rights of unit
    53  owners vis-a-vis condominium associations and the procedures  and  proc-
    54  esses available to unit owners to enforce such rights.
    55    §  3.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
    56  as to residential condominium associations  existing  and  operating  as
        S. 3320                             3

     1  such  on  the  effective date of this act the boards of managers of such
     2  associations shall within one year of the effective  date  of  this  act
     3  take  all  steps  necessary  to amend the appropriate organizational and
     4  operating  documents of such associations to implement the provisions of
     5  this act.