Westchester Co-ops Risk Fines and Liability for Not Complying with Discrimination Law

Strict requirements. In Westchester County, co-ops have 60 days from the time they receive a completed purchase application to when they provide written notice of their decision. If boards deny an application, they must use the Westchester Human Rights Commission (HRC) Notice of Rejection. They also have to list the denied applicant’s attorney, the seller’s attorney, any real estate broker involved and the co-op’s managing agent.  

Failure to comply. If someone files a complaint with the HRC about a denied application and you haven’t followed all the rules, you could be fined. For example, if you missed the deadline or didn’t use the HRC rejection notice, the fine is $1,000. If there’s an additional violation, the fine is $1,500, and then $2,000 for every violation after that. And if the HRC finds that you have discriminated, there’s no limit as to what the compensatory or punitive damages might be. You could also be required to accept the applicant.

Up and down. Since the Westchester law went into effect in 2021, the number of discrimination complaints have gone up, but the percentage of findings of probable cause have gone down. Still, more complaints is bad news for co-ops, because they have to report complaints to their insurance company to get help covering their defense costs, which will make their premiums go up.

Proceed with caution. It seems like something that should go without saying, but if an applicant doesn’t meet your financial requirements, don't interview them. If you have questions about that, discuss it with your attorney and get advice. And if there is an interview and you have questions you want to ask the person but aren’t sure whether it could be discrimination, talk to your attorney before you get into trouble.