S 71: Requires residential real property managers or any firm employing a property manager, contracting with a property manager or contracting to provide a property manager to file a registration statement with the secretary of state and to be certified from an approved certifying organization.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 71 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. KAVANAGH -- 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 providing certif- ication and registration requirements for property managers of cooper- atives and condominiums 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 article 2 12-D to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 12-D 4 RESIDENTIAL REALTY MANAGEMENT 5 Section 448. Residential realty management. 6 § 448. Residential realty management. 1. As used in this article, 7 unless the context otherwise requires: 8 (a) "Certification" shall mean a designation by the secretary of state 9 that an individual has met the predetermined qualifications which are 10 deemed to constitute a level of proficiency adequate to perform the 11 day-to-day management and operation of real property used for residen- 12 tial purposes and owned as a cooperative or condominium. 13 (b) "Property manager" shall mean any person who, in return for remun- 14 eration or compensation of any kind, performs residential realty manage- 15 ment for real property owned as a condominium or cooperative. Property 16 manager shall not mean or include: 17 (1) a shareholder or owner of the cooperative or condominium acting as 18 a property manager without remuneration or compensation of any kind; or 19 (2) any developer or sponsor of a cooperative or condominium during 20 the period that the developer or sponsor retains control of the cooper- 21 ative or condominium; provided that the developer or sponsor has in its 22 employ or has retained a property manager certified under this article. 23 (c) "Residential realty management" shall mean either: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00299-01-5 
 S. 71 2 1 (1) the performance of principal managerial responsibilities for a 2 cooperative or condominium; and the authority for policy or financial 3 decision making for any one of the following services: maintenance, 4 security, energy conservation, code compliance, labor relations, fiscal 5 budgetary responsibilities, tenant relations, governmental relations, 6 janitorial services or any other provided service; or 7 (2) the responsibility for the collection and expenditure of monies 8 for and on behalf of such cooperative or condominium, its owners and/or 9 managing board, under whatever name known. 10 2. No person shall perform residential realty management unless such 11 person shall have filed a property manager registration statement with 12 the secretary of state as required by this section and has been issued 13 by the secretary of state a certificate demonstrating that such regis- 14 trant has satisfied all the requirements for certification as a property 15 manager as set forth by this article. 16 No cooperative or condominium board shall employ any person for the 17 purpose of performing residential realty management unless such person 18 has been certified by the office of the secretary of state. Nor shall 19 the cooperative or condominium board employ any firm, partnership, 20 corporation or other entity unless its property managers are certified 21 by the office of the secretary of state. 22 3. The secretary of state shall promulgate the form of the registra- 23 tion statement to be known as the "property manager registration state- 24 ment." The property manager registration statement form shall require, 25 but need not be limited to, the following information: 26 (a) the name and address of the person filing the registration to 27 obtain certification pursuant to this article; 28 (b) the name and address of the corporation, firm, association, part- 29 nership or other entity that currently employs the applicant; 30 (c) the name and address of all partners, officers, directors and 31 principals of such corporation, firm, association, partnership or other 32 entity that currently employs the applicant; 33 (d) a statement indicating whether the applicant has: 34 (1) been convicted of any crime involving fraud or dishonesty or had 35 any civil judgments relating to work as a real property manager; 36 (2) ever had a real estate broker's license, and if so, whether such 37 license was ever revoked or suspended; 38 (3) at any time in the past been issued a certification pursuant to 39 this section, and if so, whether such certification was ever revoked or 40 suspended; 41 (e) the length of time that the applicant has been engaged in residen- 42 tial realty management where applicable and a list of each building for 43 which the registrant has performed residential realty management and the 44 dates and addresses thereof; 45 (f) the name and address of the approved property manager training 46 program that the applicant has satisfactorily completed and the date of 47 such completion, if required; and 48 (g) a sworn statement by the property manager that the information set 49 forth in the statement is current and accurate. 50 4. Every certification issued pursuant to this section shall be 51 renewed as set forth by the secretary of state but in no event shall the 52 term of such certification exceed two years. The secretary of state 53 shall collect a fee of fifty dollars for each certification and each 54 renewal pursuant to this section. 55 5. A certified property manager shall give the secretary of state 56 written notification within forty-five days of any material change of 
 S. 71 3 1 circumstances which varies from the information contained in such certi- 2 fied property manager's sworn property manager registration statement 3 previously provided to the secretary of state including, but not limited 4 to, changes in employment, retirement, resignation or termination. 5 6. The secretary of state, upon the receipt and review of a satisfac- 6 torily completed property manager registration statement, may issue a 7 certification to any applicant who has: 8 (a) (1) successfully completed a property manager training program 9 approved by the secretary of state which provides the applicant with the 10 requisite skills, knowledge and training necessary to perform residen- 11 tial realty management as defined by paragraph (c) of subdivision one of 12 this section, or (2) been gainfully employed as a property manager as 13 defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section for the five 14 years immediately preceding enactment of this section; and 15 (b) met any other criteria established by the secretary of state in 16 order to be eligible to receive certification as a property manager; or 17 (c) demonstrated, in the case of a certified property manager applying 18 for recertification, the competency and integrity to continue to perform 19 the duties of a property manager and has not had such certification 20 revoked. 21 The secretary of state may refuse to issue a certificate to any 22 person who such secretary of state finds, after notice and hearing, has 23 been convicted of any crime involving fraud or dishonesty, or where 24 refusal will in such secretary of state's judgment, best promote the 25 interests of the people of this state. 26 7. The secretary of state shall establish procedures and criteria, and 27 shall promulgate regulations, for: (a) approving or disapproving appli- 28 cations for certifications to act as a property manager; and (b) the 29 approval of and the periodic review of certification training programs. 30 Any complaint in connection with an action taken or inaction by the 31 secretary of state pursuant to this article shall be within the purview 32 of the secretary of state. In establishing the procedures required by 33 this subdivision, the secretary of state may provide that any organiza- 34 tion which has been designated by the federal department of housing and 35 urban development as an approved certification training program may act 36 as such pursuant to this article. 37 8. The secretary of state may refuse to renew, or may revoke or 38 suspend the certification of any property manager, if, after notice and 39 hearing, such secretary of state finds that such property manager has 40 failed to comply with any of the requirements imposed by the provisions 41 herein and if in such secretary of state's judgment such suspension or 42 revocation is reasonably necessary to protect the interests of the 43 people of this state. The secretary of state may in such secretary of 44 state's discretion reinstate such certification where such grounds for 45 suspension or revocation no longer exists. 46 9. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any property 47 manager or any firm, association, partnership, entity and any affiliate 48 of such firm, association, partnership or entity employing a property 49 manager, contracting with a property manager or contracting to provide a 50 property manager, if all the condominiums or cooperatives for which such 51 property manager, firm, association, partnership, entity and any affil- 52 iate of such firm, association, partnership or entity performs services 53 comprises less than twenty-five residential units. 54 10. Any property manager or any firm, association, partnership, corpo- 55 ration or other entity, other than a cooperative or condominium board, 56 employing a property manager, contracting with a property manager or 
 S. 71 4 1 contracting to provide a property manager that fails to comply with the 2 requirements of this article shall be subject to a civil penalty not to 3 exceed one thousand dollars for a first violation, two thousand five 4 hundred dollars for a second violation, and five thousand dollars for a 5 third or subsequent violation. 6 Any cooperative or condominium board which knowingly hires an unregis- 7 tered property manager may be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed 8 one thousand dollars. 9 11. All monies collected while performing residential realty manage- 10 ment shall be segregated and separate accounts shall be maintained for 11 each condominium or cooperative being managed. Any violation of this 12 provision shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to 13 exceed five thousand dollars. 14 12. When a property manager ceases to perform residential realty 15 management services for a cooperative or condominium, the property 16 manager within ten business days shall be required to turn over all 17 building records and all funds, which have been placed into such proper- 18 ty manager's care or are in such property manager's possession, to the 19 board of directors of the cooperative or board of managers of the condo- 20 minium or their designee. Nevertheless, such funds and/or records 21 requiring bank reconciliation shall be turned over within forty-five 22 days of termination. 23 13. The attorney general shall have the power to enforce the 24 provisions of this article. 25 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 26 have become a law; provided, however, that subdivision 2 of section 448 27 of the real property law, as added by section one of this act, shall 28 take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date upon which 29 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amend- 30 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 31 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 32 completed on or before such effective date.