Relates to the disclosure of information on the fiscal health of a condominium, cooperative apartment building or cooperative community to prospective buyers, current owners and the condominium board or the cooperative board.
Summary
This bill would require an auditor who discovers written documents or other evidence that would materially affect the auditor’s conclusions about the fiscal health of a condominium, cooperative apartment building, or cooperative community to disclose that information to prospective buyers, current owners, and the condominium or cooperative board. The disclosure must be made in writing and delivered to prospective buyers within a reasonable time after the discovery.
The bill also gives prospective buyers, current owners, and the relevant board the right to request and receive a copy of the completed audit report within a reasonable time after a written demand. The measure is intended to increase transparency about the financial condition of shared residential properties and to ensure that material fiscal concerns are not withheld from people making purchase or governance decisions.
Impact
The bill would amend the Real Property Law by adding a new section governing auditor disclosures for condominiums and cooperative housing, while renumbering existing sections 339-gg, 339-hh, and 339-ii as 339-mm, 339-nn, and 339-oo. Its practical effect would be to impose a statutory disclosure obligation on auditors and create an enforceable right for buyers, owners, and boards to obtain audit information relevant to the fiscal health of these properties. It would affect auditors, condo and co-op boards, current unit owners, and prospective purchasers in New York’s common-interest housing market.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript, vote tally, or recorded opposition, so there is no documented debate to indicate strong support or resistance. Based on the bill’s text and caption, the measure appears to be framed as a consumer-protection and transparency bill, suggesting a generally favorable policy rationale centered on informed purchasing and better oversight of building finances.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is the scope of the auditor’s disclosure duty: the bill requires disclosure of any document or evidence that would materially impact the auditor’s professional findings, which could raise questions about what counts as material and how quickly disclosure must occur. Another possible issue is balancing transparency with audit confidentiality and the risk of increased liability for auditors or disputes over whether information should be shared with buyers, owners, or boards. No specific opposing arguments are recorded in the provided materials.
Relates to the disclosure of information on the fiscal health of a condominium, cooperative apartment building or cooperative community to prospective buyers, current owners and the condominium board or the cooperative board.
Includes certain cooperative or limited-profit housing companies for purposes of conversions to cooperative or condominium ownership in the city of New York.
Creates the cooperative and condominium ombudsperson program; authorizes the residential unit tax; establishes the cooperative and condominium ombudsperson program fund.
Creates the cooperative and condominium ombudsperson program; authorizes the residential unit tax; establishes the cooperative and condominium ombudsperson program fund.