How NYC co-op and condo boards should operationalize the board package — what's in it, how to run the financial review, what's legally permissible at interview, and how to defend a denial under NYS Human Rights Law and the federal Fair Housing Act.
No. Under Levandusky v. One Fifth Avenue Apartment Corp., 75 N.Y.2d 530 (1990), a NYC co-op board generally need not provide reasons for a rejection. But the protection runs to the communication, not the decision — the board must have a legitimate, documented, non-discriminatory basis. Internal documentation (the written admissions policy, the per-applicant ratio sheet, interview notes, the board-vote record) is what defends the decision if a discrimination claim is filed. Condo boards exercising the right of first refusal are in a different and more exposed posture.
No. Lawful source of income — including Section 8, CityFHEPS, SSI, and other government subsidy programs — has been a protected category under the NYC Human Rights Law (§8-107(5)) since 2008. A board may apply the same DTI and post-closing liquidity ratios it applies to every applicant, treating voucher payments as part of the applicant's lawful income. A blanket 'we don't accept vouchers' policy is per se illegal in NYC.
Four numbers: debt-to-income (DTI), post-closing liquidity, net worth, and loan-to-value. Most NYC co-ops cap DTI at 25–30%, require 24 months of post-closing liquidity (luxury Manhattan often 36–60+ months), cap financing at 75–80% loan-to-value, and benchmark net worth at roughly 3–5x the purchase price for prime Manhattan. The exact bars vary by building and should be stated in the building's written admissions policy and applied uniformly.
Most NYC contracts of sale give the board roughly 30 days from receipt of a complete package. The clock starts when the package is complete, not when it is first submitted, so the managing agent's completeness review is consequential. Persistent delay beyond the contractual window creates buyer-side claims of bad-faith delay and undermines deference a court would give the board's decision.
Questions about understanding of house rules and the proprietary lease, owner-occupancy intent, planned alterations, pets where the pet policy is uniformly applied, and clarification of discrepancies in the package. Questions about marital status, family composition, plans to have children, religion, national origin, source of income, disability, citizenship, or sexual orientation are not appropriate under any circumstances — they create direct evidence in a discrimination claim.
A co-op board exercises an affirmative approval right under the proprietary lease — it can approve or reject the purchaser. A condo board has a right of first refusal under NY Real Property Law Article 9-B and the declaration — it can either waive (allow the sale) or exercise (the building buys the unit on the same terms). A condo board cannot reject a specific purchaser. Using ROFR as a backdoor to reject purchasers is exposed to the same discrimination law as a co-op denial, without the Levandusky business-judgment cover.
Most NYC co-ops require 24 months of monthly carrying costs (mortgage principal and interest plus maintenance plus assessments) in liquid assets after closing. Many Manhattan co-ops require 36–60 months. Certain prewar Park Avenue, Fifth Avenue, and Central Park West co-ops require 5–10 years. Retirement accounts are typically excluded from the calculation. The building's admissions policy should state the requirement in writing and apply it uniformly.
The REBNY Financial Statement is the spine; on top of it, a typical package includes the board application, 2–3 years of federal tax returns, employment verification, 2–3 months of bank and brokerage statements, 2 personal and 2 professional reference letters, a landlord or current managing-agent reference, the fully executed contract of sale, the lender commitment letter if financed, signed house-rules and alteration acknowledgments, required disclosures (lead paint, window guards, sprinklers, bedbugs), and a post-closing liquidity worksheet. Buildings can require additional items, which should be listed in the building's admissions policy.