RSS Feed
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Weinstein Legislation To Improve Co-op And Condo Conversions
The bill will increase funds for the Attorney General's Real Estate Finance Bureau (REFB), which will speed up the processing for co-op and condominium conversions and give tenants access to the sponsor's offering plan sooner, as well as enhance oversight and enforcement. The new legislation is the product of the Real Estate Working Group that Attorney General Cuomo convened in 2007 to address the review process for condominium and cooperative offerings. The group included executive staff from the Attorney General's office, as well as a broad section of real estate professionals, and representatives of sponsors, tenants' organizations, and cooperative and condominium owners. Weinstein sponsored the legislation in the Assembly and Senator Owen H. Johnson introduced it in the senate. It is currently in committee in both chambers. "It is critically important to have condo and co-op conversions reviewed speedily so tenants are not left in the dark about what options they have and what choices to make for their housing future," the Attorney General said. "I would like to thank the members of the Real Estate Working Group for coming up with this solution, as well as Senator Johnson and Assemblywoman Weinstein for introducing it. Thanks to their efforts, tenants will be informed of their options and their rights in a faster time frame, and owners will have their plans approved expeditiously." "Because of the increase in co-op and condo conversions, additional staffing at the REFB is necessary to protect the rights of tenants and existing owners," said Weinstein, Chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, who represents several communities in west of Canarsie. "This legislation will provide the additional funds needed by the REFB to alleviate current staffing shortages," said Johnson, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee. In letters of support to Bruno and Silver, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) said, "This legislation will provide greater protection for housing consumers and facilitate development of cooperatives and condominiums, by ensuring adequate funds are available for use by the Office of the Attorney General's Real Estate Finance Bureau." It is the responsibility of the REFB to review all offering plans for the conversion of rental buildings to cooperative or condominium ownership within six months. The number of offering plans submitted to the REFB has grown by more than 300% over the past five years, rising from 299 in 2002, to 929 in 2006. Under the current ceiling, projects with a total offering price of $5 million or more pay only a $20,000 fee. This legislation raises that cap to $30,000. Increasing the ceiling for the filing fee imposes a minimal burden on sponsors because it applies only to projects with a total offering price of $5 million or more, and has no effect on smaller developments. The cap has not been raised since 1989.
|
for larger version       |
||||||||||||||||
