Your Rights as a
NYC Condo or Co-op Owner
You have more rights than your board wants you to know about. This guide is the plain-language map: what the law says you can demand, what the board must produce, and what to do when they refuse.
THE BASELINE
Most owners do not know what they are legally entitled to.
New York condo and co-op owners have a layered set of statutory rights that exist on paper but are rarely exercised. Boards count on this. Managing agents count on this. The result is that owners ask politely, get stonewalled, and conclude that nothing can be done. This guide breaks that pattern.
Every right below is grounded in a specific statute or governing document. Every right has a template request you can send. Every right has an escalation path if your board refuses. Nothing in this guide requires a lawyer to use, though some advanced steps benefit from one.
Important distinction. Co-op shareholders and condo unit owners have slightly different statutory frameworks. Co-ops are governed by the Business Corporation Law (BCL) plus your proprietary lease. Condos are governed by Real Property Law Article 9-B plus your declaration and bylaws. Where the rules differ, this guide specifies which applies to you.
RIGHT 1
Inspect the building's books and records.
Co-op shareholders: BCL §624 gives any shareholder the right to inspect the corporation's books, records, minutes of shareholder meetings, and list of shareholders during normal business hours. You can request copies. The corporation can require a written request stating the purpose, and the purpose must be reasonably related to your interest as a shareholder.
Condo unit owners: RPL §339-w requires the board to keep "detailed, accurate records, in chronological order, of the receipts and expenditures arising from the operation of the property." Any unit owner is entitled to examine these records at convenient hours of weekdays. Most condo bylaws expand on this with specific record categories.
What you can demand: general ledger, accounts payable detail, vendor contracts, board meeting minutes, audited financial statements, reserve study, insurance policies, managing-agent contract, and any document referenced in board meeting minutes.
What the board cannot do: require you to sign a non-disclosure agreement, charge unreasonable fees, demand justification beyond your status as an owner, or limit access to records that are clearly within statute.
RIGHT 2
Receive notice of meetings and vote.
Annual meetings. BCL §602 requires co-op corporations to hold an annual shareholder meeting. RPL §339-u requires condominium associations to hold a meeting at least annually. Your bylaws specify the notice period, usually 10 to 50 days in advance. Notice must include the date, time, place, and the matters to be voted on.
Special meetings. BCL §603 specifically allows holders of at least 10% of co-op shares to demand a special meeting to elect directors when the corporation has failed to hold a proper annual meeting. General special meetings on other topics are governed by your bylaws, which typically set a 20% to 25% petition threshold. The board must call the meeting within a reasonable time of receiving a valid petition.
Proxy rights. If you cannot attend, you can vote by proxy. BCL §609 governs co-op proxies. Condo proxies follow the declaration and bylaws. A proxy is revocable until it is exercised. Managing agents collecting proxies on behalf of incumbent boards is a structural conflict of interest that owners can challenge.
What you can demand: the full meeting agenda in advance, the slate of board candidates, all proposed resolutions in their final form, and a copy of the minutes after the meeting.
RIGHT 3
See the annual audit and reserve study.
Annual audited financial statements. Most NYC condo and co-op bylaws require an annual audit by an independent CPA. The audit must be distributed to all owners. If your bylaws require it and the board has not delivered it, the board is in breach.
Reserve study. While New York does not currently require a reserve study by statute, most lenders and underwriters now require one as a condition of financing. If your building has one, you are entitled to see it. If your building does not have one, that absence is itself a governance flag.
What the audit must include. Balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, notes to financial statements, and the auditor's opinion. The auditor's opinion is the most important section. An "unmodified" or "clean" opinion means the auditor found the records reliable. A "qualified" opinion or worse is a warning. Most owners never read this section.
RIGHT 4
Receive notice and explanation of special assessments.
Special assessments are not just a notification. They are a board action that requires a basis. Owners are entitled to know:
- The specific purpose of the assessment (which capital project, which deficiency, which obligation)
- The board resolution authorizing it, including the date and vote count
- The underlying engineering report, cost estimate, or contract if the assessment funds a project
- The reserve fund balance at the time of the assessment (assessments to "build reserves" when reserves are already adequate raise questions)
- The basis for the allocation among units (proportional to common interest, equally, or otherwise)
Many NYC bylaws require owner approval for special assessments above a threshold dollar amount. Check your bylaws. If your bylaws require a 50% or two-thirds vote and the board imposed the assessment without one, the assessment may be void.
RIGHT 5
Learn who has a conflict of interest.
BCL §713 governs interested-director transactions in co-ops. A transaction in which a board member has a financial interest is not automatically void, but it must be disclosed and either approved by disinterested directors or shown to be fair to the corporation. Condo board members have similar fiduciary duties under common law and RPL §339-v.
What you can demand: Annual disclosure of any board member's financial relationship with a building vendor, contractor, attorney, accountant, or service provider. The disclosure should name the entity, describe the relationship, and identify any transaction the board member voted on in which they had an interest.
Most buildings have no conflict-of-interest policy. The absence is itself a governance failure. The Issues page on board self-dealing covers this in depth.
RIGHT 6
Get the managing-agent contract.
Your common charges pay the managing agent. The agent contract is your contract. You are entitled to read it. Most NYC managing-agent contracts contain provisions that owners would find objectionable if they knew about them:
- Automatic renewal clauses (often 3-5 years rolling) that make it difficult to change agents
- Termination penalties (sometimes equal to remaining contract value)
- Vendor preference provisions (the agent gets to choose which contractors bid)
- Markup permissions (the agent earns a percentage on vendor invoices)
- Indemnification of the agent by the building for the agent's own negligence
Request the contract. Read every page. If your board refuses to produce it, the refusal itself is a fiduciary issue worth escalating.
WHEN THE BOARD REFUSES
Escalation path.
Step 1 -- Written demand. Send a written request, dated, citing the statute or bylaw, specifying the records sought, and giving a reasonable deadline (10 to 30 days). Send by certified mail or email with read receipt. Keep copies.
Step 2 -- Follow up. If no response, send a second written notice referencing the first and stating that continued refusal will be reported to the AG and potentially the subject of litigation. Many boards comply at this stage to avoid escalation.
Step 3 -- AG complaint. If the refusal involves matters within the Martin Act (offering plan obligations, sponsor period issues, material misrepresentations), file a complaint with the NY Attorney General Real Estate Finance Bureau. Use our AG complaint generator.
Step 4 -- Legislative pressure. Most condo governance failures fall outside AG REFB jurisdiction. The remedy is statutory reform. Use our letter-to-rep generator to push your state senator, assembly member, or NYC council member to support managing-agent licensure and condo governance oversight legislation.
Step 5 -- Litigation. Books-and-records inspection rights are enforceable by court order. A petition under BCL §624 (or an equitable action under RPL Article 9-B) can compel production. This step requires an attorney and typically costs $5,000 to $25,000. It is the option of last resort, but it works.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The law exists. It is just not enforced.
Every right in this guide is on the books today. The problem is not that the law is missing. The problem is that the enforcement infrastructure is missing. No state agency receives condo governance complaints. No regulatory body audits board behavior. No administrative body can compel a board to produce records short of litigation.
Until New York establishes a Governance Oversight Authority -- which we have proposed and continue to advocate for -- enforcement falls on individual owners. This guide is the tool kit. Use it.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my board charge me for copies of records?
Yes, but only at reasonable cost. Charging $5 or $10 per page for routine copies is not reasonable. Standard rates are $0.10 to $0.25 per page for physical copies, and digital copies should be free. Excessive copying fees are themselves a barrier-to-entry violation that supports an escalation.
Does my board have to give me reasons for denying a records request?
Yes. If the board denies access, the denial must be in writing and must state a legitimate basis. "It is not your business" is not a legitimate basis. Common legitimate bases include attorney-client privilege, individual personnel records, and active litigation files. Boards routinely overuse these exemptions; do not accept them at face value.
What if my board retaliates against me for asking?
Retaliation is a separate problem with its own remedies. Document every act you believe is retaliatory. NY Civil Rights Law §§70-a and 76-a (anti-SLAPP) protect owners against board lawsuits filed in response to public-interest speech. If your board sues you over a records request or a complaint, the suit may be subject to mandatory dismissal and fee-shifting.
I do not want to make enemies. Can I do this anonymously?
Books-and-records requests must be made by name -- you have to identify yourself as a record-eligible owner. AG complaints can be filed without notice to the board. Letter-to-rep templates do not require board notification. If your goal is to push reform rather than confront your specific board, focus on the policy channels first.
Does any of this apply if I rent rather than own?
This guide is for owners. Renters in NYC have separate protections under rent stabilization, the Housing Maintenance Code, and the tenant protection laws administered by HCR and HPD. Renters in co-op buildings (subletting from a shareholder) have hybrid status; the sublet agreement governs.