Intro 188 Coop Sales Application Bill

A bill, Intro 188, has been introduced in the New York City Council.  It would require a timely written decision on a prospective coop purchaser’s completed application once it is received. 

The bill would require cooperative housing corporations to provide a decision to an applicant's completed application within 45 days.

Most cooperative corporations provide a prospective buyer of an apartment with a definitive answer in a timely manner. However, in some instances, cooperative corporations fail to provide a response to a prospective buyers completed application.  This conduct is unfair to the buyer and the seller who have invested time and money to complete the transaction.

REBNY the Real Estate Board of New York is supporting this bill. However, a few years ago a bill was introduced in the city council in an effort to make coops accountable. The proposed law at that time would have required coops boards to put in writing their reason for rejecting a purchaser applicant from their coop. REBNY, a strong opponent of the bill successfully fought to defeat that bill. 

This bill may be a step to streamline coop applications and paperwork but it still does not make coops accountable. Until coops are required to become transparent by revealing their reasons for a board turn down, in my opinion they will continue to operate in secrecy and hinder the enforcement of fair housing laws in co-ops.