Op-ed: Boards Urgently Must Oppose Bill Regulating Co-op Admissions
April 26, 2013 — A bill has been introduced in New York's City Council that would substantially impair a co-op board's rights to approve prospective apartment purchasers.
On very short notice, a hearing on the bill — Int. No. 188 — has been scheduled for Tuesday, April 30, at 1 p.m. We understand that the bill is being strongly supported by the real estate broker community. However, we recommend and encourage you and your fellow co-op board members and managers to promptly reach out to your City Council representatives and express your views in opposition to the bill.
Int. No. 188: Sales of Cooperative Apartments
- Requires every coop to provide a standardized application and list of requirements to any applicant upon request and to the Human Rights Commission.
- Deems an application received on the date of actual receipt or five days subsequent to the date of mailing.
- Requires the board or managing agent to provide written acknowledgment of receipt within 10 business days or provide a notice of any deficiencies in the application. Without written notice, the application is deemed complete.
- Within 45 calendar days of a completed application, the board or managing agent shall provide a written determination of whether the application has been approved or disapproved.
- If disapproved, the board shall also provide a written certification of non-discrimination that shall be signed by each member of the board who participated in the decision to disapprove the applicant.
- If the board fails to provide the written documentation with 45 calendar days, the board shall refund any application fees.
- Within 10 business days of the 45 calendar day period, any applicant who submitted a complete application who was not provided with the written documentation may request it in writing. If the board does not provide the written documentation after receiving the request, the application shall be deemed approved.
- For complete applications received between July 1 and September 10, if the board states in its files that it does not meet during July and August, the board or managing agent shall have the longer of 45 calendar days or until September 10th the provide the written documentation.
- Each cooperative shall maintain all records for a period of not less than 5 years.
- Penalties for not adhering to timeframes could be up to 3 times the application feed and actual costs incurred by the applicant in preparing and submitting the application up to $5000, as well as attorney's fees and costs. These penalties can be determined by the court or through the Human Rights Commission.
- Violations can be issued between $250 and $2000 for the first instance of non-compliance, between $500 and $5000 for the second, between $2000 and $15,000 for the third.
Eva C. Talel is a partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.
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