Two of the biggest milestones in condo and co-op regulation changes that have happened recently were the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, which came in 2019, followed by the Climate Mobilization Act. This pair of legislative actions seem to have sparked a new wave of changes in these housing rules in New York – and these rule alterations show no signs of letting up anytime soon.
What do these rule changes effectively mean for condos and co-op boards?
The Climate Mobilization Act is an effort to reduce the human impact on the environment. This mandated the reduction of carbon emissions from condominiums and cooperatives, and those who violated the act are subject to hefty fines. In order to meet the demands of this act, many co-op boards and condo owners had to make big changes.
The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act is all about reworking the laws around the relationship between landlord and tenant. But for condos and co-ops, of course, the relationship is an extremely different situation and not necessarily well-suited for the rules written in this act.
An outcry for change
Advocacy groups from co-ops and condominiums have spoken up about the need for a distinction between their types of housing situations compared to the standard landlord-tenant relationship described in these acts. One solution that’s been proposed by these groups is to make co-ops excluded from these requirements altogether.
It doesn’t matter what part of the process you’re in – the rules that you are operating under are subject to change seemingly at the drop of a hat. This is an issue amongst cooperatives and condominium boards alike. You truly have to do your homework and stay up to date with current events to keep from growing stagnant in this property game that never wants to sit still.