Building types
Townhouse and 1-4 family condo declaration
A small building divided into condominium units, where outdoor space, party walls, multiple-dwelling registration and the certificate of occupancy do most of the work.
What is different about a townhouse condo declaration?
Quick Answer
What is the property interest, legally?
- The declaration allocates limited common elements: yard, roof, terrace, stoop and storage
- Party-wall rights and repair obligations are set by the declaration and by any recorded party-wall agreement
- A two or three unit condominium has no professional management, so the owners administer it themselves
- Multiple-dwelling registration obligations depend on the number of units and how they are occupied
- The certificate of occupancy states the legal number of units, which is not always the number in use
How is a purchase of this type financed?
- The loan is a recorded mortgage, so mortgage recording tax applies
- Lenders apply special rules to two to four unit condominiums and some decline them
- A certificate of occupancy that does not match actual use is a common funding obstacle
- The absence of a reserve fund and a professional manager is an underwriting question
Which taxes and building fees apply?
- Mortgage recording tax applies to the recorded mortgage
- NYS transfer tax and NYC RPTT apply to the conveyance
- The one to three family residential RPTT rate differs from the rate on other property, so classification matters
- The mansion tax applies to residential purchases at the statutory threshold
What does the approval path look like?
- Read the declaration and confirm how outdoor space and roof rights are allocated
- Compare the certificate of occupancy against the actual configuration of the building
- Confirm party-wall and repair obligations with the neighbouring owner’s recorded documents
- Order title, survey reading and municipal searches
- Closing held, deed recorded in ACRIS
Who owns the yard in a townhouse condo?
Whoever the declaration says. Outdoor space in a small condominium is usually a limited common element assigned to one unit for exclusive use, with maintenance obligations attached. If the declaration is silent or ambiguous, the yard becomes a dispute between two neighbours who share a wall.
What if the certificate of occupancy says fewer units?
Then the building is being used in a way the City does not recognise, and that mismatch is a legal defect in the building rather than a paperwork problem. It affects financing, insurance, the legality of any rental income, and what a purchaser can lawfully do after closing.
Who repairs a party wall?
Ordinarily both owners share the obligation for a wall that supports both buildings, in proportions set by any recorded party-wall agreement and by the declaration. Where nothing is recorded, the allocation is decided by common law, which is a slower and more expensive way to answer the question.
What else should you read before closing?
In the glossary
- Certificate of Occupancy (C of O)The Department of Buildings document that fixes a building's legal use and occupancy. Lenders and title companies read it to confirm the property c...
- SurveyA surveyor's drawing of the parcel, its improvements and any encroachments. Lenders on houses and townhouses generally require a current one or a s...
- EasementA right to use part of another owner's property for a specific purpose. Easements appear as exceptions on a title report and generally survive a sa...
- CovenantA recorded promise or restriction that runs with the land and binds future owners. Restrictive covenants limit what the property may be used for or...
- Transfer tax (RPTT and NYS)Taxes on the conveyance itself, one City and one State. Rates step up at higher prices, and who pays is set by custom and then confirmed by the con...
- ACRISNew York City's public index of recorded property documents. Deeds, mortgages, satisfactions, easements and many liens are recorded here, which mak...
Questions this raises
- What happens if the title search finds a problem before closing?Schedule B-I requirements are the punch list, not a dead deal. How New York closings clear old liens, missing satisfactions and name hits before th...
- What gets recorded after a NYC closing?Deed, mortgage, assignments and satisfactions record through ACRIS with the City Register, along with transfer tax returns. What is filed instead o...
Building types
- Standard condoA New York City condominium unit: real property conveyed by deed, recorded in ACRIS, with an undivided interest in the common elements.
- Condo in a converted buildingA condominium created by converting an existing rental building, where non-purchasing tenants, the reserve fund and building-wide conditions carry ...
- Mixed-use condo with commercial unitsA condominium holding both residential and commercial units, where the declaration allocates common charges, voting rights and use restrictions bet...
- New-development condoA first sale from the sponsor of a newly built condominium, governed by an offering plan, often delivered on a temporary certificate of occupancy.
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Legal Disclaimer: This page is general information about New York practice. It is not legal advice, it does not account for the terms of any particular contract, building or transaction, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.