S 7358: Enacts the low impact landscaping rights act, preventing homeowners' associations from adopting or enforcing any rules or regulations that would effectively prohibit, or impose unreasonable limitations on, the installation or maintenance of low impact landscaping.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7358 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAY -- 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 enacting the "low impact landscaping rights act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "low impact landscaping rights act". 3 § 2. The real property law is amended by adding a new article 9-e to 4 read as follows: 5 ARTICLE 9-E 6 LOW IMPACT LANDSCAPING RIGHTS ACT 7 Section 344. Legislative intent. 8 344-a. Certain covenants, conditions, and restrictions of home- 9 owners' associations prohibited. 10 § 344. Legislative intent. It is in the interest of the state to 11 encourage biodiversity in the natural landscapes across New York. Resi- 12 dential lawns compose a significant portion of localities' landscapes, 13 and the turfgrass monocultures that are typically cultivated on lawns 14 adversely affect biodiversity of flora and fauna. Turfgrass monocultures 15 provide little to no benefit for pollinators and other native wildlife, 16 and require pesticides, herbicides, and large amounts of water to retain 17 the artificial environment. This legislation will ensure that homeowners 18 are not prevented by homeowners' associations from installing and main- 19 taining beneficial low impact landscaping on their property. 20 § 344-a. Certain covenants, conditions, and restrictions of homeown- 21 ers' associations prohibited. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this 22 section: 23 (a) "restriction on use" means any covenant, restriction, or condition 24 contained in: 25 (i) a deed; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04974-01-5 
 S. 7358 2 1 (ii) a contract; 2 (iii) the by-laws of a homeowners' association; 3 (iv) any rules or regulations adopted by a homeowners' association; 4 (v) a security agreement; or 5 (vi) any other instrument affecting the transfer or sale of, or any 6 interest in, real property. 7 (b) "low impact landscaping" means: 8 (i) pollinator gardens designed to attract and promote the health of 9 pollinator species; 10 (ii) rain gardens designed to collect and retain rain water in the 11 soil and to filter and reduce runoff; 12 (iii) habitat gardens designed to attract and promote the health of 13 native wildlife; or 14 (iv) natural gardening that uses plants native to the state of New 15 York. 16 2. A homeowners' association shall not adopt or enforce any rules or 17 regulations that would effectively prohibit, or impose unreasonable 18 limitations on, the installation or maintenance of low impact landscap- 19 ing. A restriction on use which effectively prohibits the installation 20 or maintenance of low impact landscaping shall be unenforceable and 21 shall be void as contrary to public policy. 22 3. Notwithstanding subdivision two of this section, a homeowners' 23 association may adopt or enforce a restriction on use to prohibit the 24 installation or maintenance of low impact landscaping that is: 25 (a) located on property owned by the homeowners' association or that 26 is located on property owned in common by the members of the homeowners' 27 association; 28 (b) not reasonably maintained by the homeowner; or 29 (c) not designed within reasonable expectations regarding public safe- 30 ty, and regarding encroachment on common space and neighboring proper- 31 ties. 32 4. Any denial of a homeowner's installation of low impact landscaping 33 by a homeowners' association shall include a detailed description of the 34 exact basis for rejection in writing with specific examples of such 35 homeowners' association's concerns, if applicable. 36 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 37 have become a law.