Closings glossary
Zoning lot certificate
A recorded declaration combining tax lots into one zoning lot for development purposes. Waivers and consents from affected owners and lienholders accompany it.
What is a zoning lot certificate?
Quick Answer
The full definition
A recorded declaration combining tax lots into one zoning lot for development purposes. Waivers and consents from affected owners and lienholders accompany it.
Also called: Zoning lot development agreement, ZLDA.
Which related terms should you know?
These are the terms that come up alongside zoning lot certificate in the same file.
- BBL (Borough-Block-Lot)
- The tax lot identifier for a parcel of New York City real property, written as borough, block and lot. Nearly every City record system keys on it rather than on an address.
- Covenant
- A recorded promise or restriction that runs with the land and binds future owners. Restrictive covenants limit what the property may be used for or how it may be built on.
- Recording
- Filing an instrument with the register or county clerk so it becomes part of the public record. Recording establishes priority against later purchasers and lenders.
- Easement
- A 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 sale of the land.
- 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 can lawfully be used the way it is sold.
Where does zoning lot certificate come up in a New York City closing?
A Long Island City site assembles four tax lots under a zoning lot development agreement, and every mortgage holder has to subordinate for it to work.
What else should you read before closing?
Questions this raises
Building types
- 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.
- 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...
Zoning and land use
- Zoning lot mergersA zoning lot merger joins separate tax lots into one zoning lot so floor area can move between them. It is recorded, and it binds every future owner.
- Air rights and transferable development rightsAir rights move three ways in New York City: a zoning lot merger, a landmark transfer, or a special district mechanism. Each is a recorded real est...
- Floor area ratio and how much you can buildFloor area ratio multiplied by lot area sets the buildable floor area. Here is how it is calculated, what is excluded, and why the zoning lot is th...
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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.