Bill Text: NY S08643 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
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 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-10 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S08643 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S08643-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8643 IN SENATE May 10, 2018 ___________ 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 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-ll to read as follows: 3 § 339-ll. 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 25 whether individual or group sponsored, billings, estimates, overages, 26 and proof of the expenditures that comprise the total of the surcharge 27 and minutes of each meeting where the planning and voting on the 28 proposal was discussed with all the owners, for any and all expenditures 29 not made in the ordinary course of business, bank account and financial 30 investment statements, and the association's IRS form nine-hundred-nine- 31 ty, if applicable, for each of the three most current fiscal years. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06852-04-8S. 8643 2 1 2. The right to timely decisions. All applications by unit owners in 2 connection with matters which require approval of the board of managers 3 and all requests for determinations by the board of managers including, 4 but not limited to, requests for the resolution of disputes between or 5 among unit owners, disputes between unit owners and the condominium 6 association such as disputes concerning responsibility for repairs shall 7 be processed in a reasonably expeditious manner pursuant to uniform 8 procedures and timetables adopted in writing. The board's decision shall 9 be in writing and shall set forth the reasons therefor, except that no 10 reason shall be required when approval is granted. 11 3. Voting rights. (a) The board of managers shall call a meeting to 12 fill any vacancies which occur on such board within sixty days of the 13 occurrence of such vacancy if the vacancy occurs more than six months 14 prior to the annual meeting of unit owners. 15 (b) The final results of elections for the board of managers including 16 a tally of the votes received by each candidate shall be posted within 17 one business day following the availability of such information in a 18 prominent place accessible to all unit owners in each building compris- 19 ing the condominium. 20 (c) Any member of a board of managers who is elected while a unit 21 owner in the condominium, who sells his or her apartment, and who, 22 subsequent to such sale shall no longer be a unit owner in such condo- 23 minium, shall resign from such board no later than the closing date of 24 such sale. 25 4. The right to notice. In addition to any other notice required, 26 notice of all board and unit owner meetings shall be posted in a promi- 27 nent place accessible to all unit owners in each building comprising the 28 condominium. 29 5. The right against extraordinary expenses. No less than once in 30 every five years the board shall propose expense limits which shall be 31 included in the notice of the annual or any other meeting of the unit 32 owners. An opportunity for unit owners to comment on such proposal and 33 to offer lower expense limits shall be included in the agenda for such 34 meeting. At the conclusion of the comment period the board shall, by an 35 open vote, adopt expense limits not to exceed those proposed by the 36 board which shall be effective until changed. Once approved by vote, the 37 board shall not enter into contracts for extraordinary expenses without 38 approval of the unit owners, unless it is deemed to be an emergency or 39 is required for refinancing of the mortgage. 40 6. The attorney general is authorized to enforce the provisions of 41 this section and may, upon his or her own initiative, or in response to 42 a complaint by one or more unit owners, investigate allegations of any 43 failure to comply with the provisions hereof. 44 § 2. Within six months of the effective date of this act the attorney 45 general shall promulgate a handbook summarizing the rights of unit 46 owners vis-a-vis condominium associations and the procedures and proc- 47 esses available to unit owners to enforce such rights. 48 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 49 as to residential condominium associations existing and operating as 50 such on the effective date of this act the boards of managers of such 51 associations shall within one year of the effective date of this act 52 take all steps necessary to amend the appropriate organizational and 53 operating documents of such associations to implement the provisions of 54 this act.