Bill Text: NY S00510 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Creates a residential condominium owner 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 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-06-06 - PRINT NUMBER 510A [S00510 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S00510-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 510--A 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 4, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. DIAZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee 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 2 339-11 to read as follows: 3 § 339-11. 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 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06852-03-7S. 510--A 2 1 bidding processes for work to be done on the condominium including work 2 that was conducted and the amounts of the contributions of each owner 3 whether individual or group sponsored, billings, estimates, overages, 4 and proof of the expenditures that comprise the total of the surcharge 5 and minutes of each meeting where the planning and voting on the 6 proposal was discussed with all the owners, for any and all expenditures 7 not made in the ordinary course of business, bank account and financial 8 investment statements, and the association's IRS form nine-hundred-nine- 9 ty, if applicable, for each of the three most current fiscal years. 10 2. The right to timely decisions. All applications by unit owners in 11 connection with matters which require approval of the board of managers 12 and all requests for determinations by the board of managers including, 13 but not limited to, requests for the resolution of disputes between or 14 among unit owners, disputes between unit owners and the condominium 15 association such as disputes concerning responsibility for repairs shall 16 be processed in a reasonably expeditious manner pursuant to uniform 17 procedures and timetables adopted in writing. The board's decision shall 18 be in writing and shall set forth the reasons therefor, except that no 19 reason shall be required when approval is granted. 20 3. Voting rights. (a) The board of managers shall call a meeting to 21 fill any vacancies which occur on such board within sixty days of the 22 occurrence of such vacancy if the vacancy occurs more than six months 23 prior to the annual meeting of unit owners. 24 (b) The final results of elections for the board of managers including 25 a tally of the votes received by each candidate shall be posted within 26 one business day following the availability of such information in a 27 prominent place accessible to all unit owners in each building compris- 28 ing the condominium. 29 (c) Any member of a board of managers who is elected while a unit 30 owner in the condominium, who sells his or her apartment, and who, 31 subsequent to such sale shall no longer be a unit owner in such condo- 32 minium, shall resign from such board no later than the closing date of 33 such sale. 34 4. The right to notice. In addition to any other notice required, 35 notice of all board and unit owner meetings shall be posted in a promi- 36 nent place accessible to all unit owners in each building comprising the 37 condominium. 38 5. The right against extraordinary expenses. No less than once in 39 every five years the board shall propose expense limits which shall be 40 included in the notice of the annual or any other meeting of the unit 41 owners. An opportunity for unit owners to comment on such proposal and 42 to offer lower expense limits shall be included in the agenda for such 43 meeting. At the conclusion of the comment period the board shall, by an 44 open vote, adopt expense limits not to exceed those proposed by the 45 board which shall be effective until changed. Once approved by vote, the 46 board shall not enter into contracts for extraordinary expenses without 47 approval of the unit owners, unless it is deemed to be an emergency or 48 is required for refinancing of the mortgage. 49 6. The attorney general is authorized to enforce the provisions of 50 this section and may, upon his or her own initiative, or in response to 51 a complaint by one or more unit owners, investigate allegations of any 52 failure to comply with the provisions hereof. 53 § 2. Within six months of the effective date of this act the attorney 54 general shall promulgate a handbook summarizing the rights of unit 55 owners vis-a-vis condominium associations and the procedures and proc- 56 esses available to unit owners to enforce such rights.S. 510--A 3 1 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 2 as to residential condominium associations existing and operating as 3 such on the effective date of this act the boards of managers of such 4 associations shall within one year of the effective date of this act 5 take all steps necessary to amend the appropriate organizational and 6 operating documents of such associations to implement the provisions of 7 this act.
