It has long been the law in New York that co-op boards could reject potential buyers without disclosing the reason. This is very frustrating to buyers and sellers… and real estate agents.
As a lawyer, I had a way to get the Board to disclose the reason for the rejection– by claiming discrimination to the NYC Commission of Human Rights– this forced the co-op board to appear and disclose the reasons. It is a clever tactic (given you sense discrimination by asking the buyer to tell you what questions they were asked during the interview).
Some time later, New York tried to change the law requiring co-op boards to give reasons for rejection. The law did not pass. But it now seems the armor has been pierced…
Suffolk Now Mandates Full Disclosure By Co-op Boards
Apparently, Suffolk County has changed the law in Suffolk. If a co-op board rejects a buyer, they must now disclose the reasons why. This is a big deal.
According to Habitat:
The Long Island country now requires cooperative apartment boards to reveal in writing their reasons for turning down potential residents. Board members could be brought to account more easily in discrimination lawsuits, and be held personally liable. Entitled “A Local Law Requiring Fairness in Cooperative Home Ownership” (Intro. Resolution Number 1763-2009, Local Law Number 36-2009), it also requires that co-op boards provide the same application to all applicants, along with information on the relevant Fair Housing and anti-discrimination laws. Once an applicant turns in an application, the board must acknowledge within 10 days that it has received it, and must inform the applicant whether the application is complete or not. The board must come to its decision to approve or deny the completed application within 45 days.
This is amazing…. if enforceable, given the New York case law allowing Boards to be silent.
Here is where it started back in August 28, 2009: (click images to enlarge)
Curiously, I also found this discussion on 1545-2009 from the Ways and Means Committee in July 2009 (click images to enlarge)
Interestingly, a Realtor attended and made this comment:
I will be calling some lawyers in Suffolk to get their take on this.
Related Posts:
How to Overthrow A Tyrant:Fighting a Co-op Board Rejection
Co-ops to Give Reasons for Rejecting a Buyer?
Technorati Tags: co-op, buyer rejection disclosure, new yrok co-op, suffolk co-op
