S 7541: Requires that when a buyer enters into a contract to purchase a condominium or cooperative housing unit, the property management company or board of managers shall provide the buyer with records of the most recent inspection and engineering reports and permits for the subject property.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7541 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 22, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BYNOE -- 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 establishing tran- sparency guidelines for condominiums and cooperative housing units The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. This Legislature hereby finds that on 2 June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story condominium in Surf- 3 side, Florida experienced a partial collapse that resulted in the deaths 4 of 98 residents, becoming the third-deadliest non-deliberate structural 5 engineering failure in United States history. In the wake of such a 6 tragedy, this Legislature understands that there are currently no exist- 7 ing statewide regulations which would require that condominium or coop- 8 erative housing associations' property management company or board of 9 managers make information regarding any inspections, permits, or engi- 10 neering reports available to unit owners and purchasers. 11 Additionally, this Legislature finds that in Myrtle Beach, South Caro- 12 lina, residents of the Renaissance Towers condominium are currently 13 embroiled in an ongoing lawsuit after 300 units were evacuated after the 14 building was deemed unsafe by Horry County Code Enforcement on October 15 7, 2022. These unit owners reported that the board of managers had 16 failed to document or inform unit owners of the findings of engineering 17 reports for over 20 years prior to the evacuation. This Legislature 18 determines that transparency of reporting inspections, permits and engi- 19 neering reports would provide residents and purchasers with the know- 20 ledge to make informed decisions about their condominium and cooperative 21 housing associations, and such reports should be provided to local muni- 22 cipalities to protect the health and wellbeing of residents. 23 Furthermore, this Legislature finds that this legislation would make 24 New York the third state, following Florida and New Jersey, to have 25 strengthened transparency regulations on condominiums and co-ops follow- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11710-01-5 
 S. 7541 2 1 ing the 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse. As such, this Legislature 2 finds that New York should follow in their footsteps to ensure that 3 condominium and cooperative housing associations' board of managers and 4 property management companies should have a duty to inform unit owners 5 and purchasers of any structural, mechanical, health, or fire code 6 violations that may exist in a condominium or cooperative housing prop- 7 erty. 8 § 2. Section 339-e of the real property law is amended by adding three 9 new subdivisions 17, 18 and 19 to read as follows: 10 17. "Inspections" shall mean any report completed by an employee of a 11 municipality, a contractor working on behalf of a municipality or prop- 12 erty management company for the purpose of ensuring a property meets 13 local building codes, health and safety standards, or fire code, or to 14 evaluate if a property has significant mechanical or structural damage. 15 18. "Engineering reports" shall mean any report completed by a certi- 16 fied engineer or architect on behalf of a property management company, 17 the board of managers, a municipality, or the state of New York for the 18 purpose of evaluating if a property has significant mechanical or struc- 19 tural damages. 20 19. "Permit" shall mean any official approval issued by a state or 21 municipality authorizing the property management company, a consultant, 22 or any agency hired by the board of managers to operate, conduct reno- 23 vations, repairs, or remediation for any property possessing residential 24 condominiums or cooperative housing units. 25 § 3. Section 339-q of the real property law, as added by chapter 82 of 26 the laws of 1964, is amended to read as follows: 27 § 339-q. Filing with board. 1. True copies of the floor plans, 28 inspections, engineering reports, permits, the declaration, the by-laws 29 and any rules and regulations shall be kept on file in the office of the 30 board of managers and shall be available for inspection at convenient 31 hours of weekdays by persons having an interest. Copies of the floor 32 plans, inspections, engineering reports, permits, the declaration, the 33 by-laws and any rules and regulations shall be provided digitally and 34 physically to unit owners whenever any revision, amendment, inspection, 35 report or plan is made or issued. 36 2. Should the board of managers fail to comply with any item within 37 this section, the office of the attorney general of the state of New 38 York shall reserve the right to void any offering plan permitting the 39 operation of the condominium or cooperative. 40 3. Nothing in this section shall abrogate or limit a unit owner's 41 right to file a civil or criminal action against the board of managers. 42 § 4. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 339-mm 43 to read as follows: 44 § 339-mm. Reporting requirements. 1. When a buyer as defined in para- 45 graph b of subdivision one of section four hundred forty-three of this 46 chapter enters into a contract to purchase a condominium or cooperative 47 housing unit, the property management company or board of managers shall 48 provide the buyer with records of the most recent inspection and engi- 49 neering reports and permits for the subject property. 50 2. Any potential buyer shall have the right to request a copy of the 51 most recent inspection or engineering report for a condominium or coop- 52 erative housing unit from the property management company or board of 53 managers. 54 3. Any inspection or engineering report completed by a consultant or 55 engineer on behalf of a unit owner, the board of managers, or the prop- 56 erty management company for any condominium or co-op structure shall be 
 S. 7541 3 1 filed with the local municipal building department, local health depart- 2 ment or code enforcement officials within sixty days. 3 4. A copy of any permit granted by a local municipality or the state 4 of New York for the condominium or cooperative housing property shall be 5 made available by the property management company and the board of 6 managers for all unit owners. 7 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 8 it shall have become a law.