N.Y. Real Property Law § 339-y: Separate taxation

§ 339-y. Separate taxation. 1. (a) With respect to all property

submitted to the provisions of this article other than property which is

the subject of a qualified leasehold condominium, each unit and its

common interest, not including any personal property, shall be deemed to

be a parcel and shall be subject to separate assessment and taxation by

each assessing unit, school district, special district, county or other

taxing unit, for all types of taxes authorized by law including but not

limited to special ad valorem levies and special assessments, except

that the foregoing shall not apply to a unit held under lease or

sublease unless the declaration requires the unit owner to pay all taxes

attributable to his unit. Neither the building, the property nor any of

the common elements shall be deemed to be a parcel.

(b) In no event shall the aggregate of the assessment of the units

plus their common interests exceed the total valuation of the property

were the property assessed as a parcel.

(c) For the purposes of this and the next succeeding section the terms

"assessing unit", "assessment", "parcel", "special ad valorem levy",

"special assessment", "special district", "taxation" and "taxes" shall

have the meanings specified in section one hundred two of the real

property tax law.

(d) The provisions of paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall not

apply to such real property classified within:

(i) on and after January first, nineteen hundred eighty-six, class one

of section one thousand eight hundred two of the real property tax law;

or

(ii) on and after January first, nineteen hundred eighty-four, the

homestead class of an approved assessing unit which has adopted the

provisions of section one thousand nine hundred three of the real

property tax law, or the homestead class of the portion outside an

approved assessing unit of an eligible split school district which has

adopted the provisions of section nineteen hundred three-a of the real

property tax law; provided, however, that, in an approved assessing unit

which adopted the provisions of section one thousand nine hundred three

of the real property tax law prior to the effective date of this

subdivision, paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall apply to all such

real property (i) which is classified within the homestead class

pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision (e) of section one thousand

nine hundred one of the real property tax law and (ii) which, regardless

of classification, was on the assessment roll prior to the effective

date of this subdivision unless the governing body of such approved

assessing unit provides by local law adopted after a public hearing,

prior to the taxable status date of such assessing unit next occurring

after December thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-three, that such

paragraph (b) shall not apply to such real property to which this clause

applies. Provided further, however, real property subject to the

provisions of this subparagraph shall be assessed pursuant to

subdivision two of section five hundred eighty-one of the real property

tax law.

(e) On the first assessment roll with a taxable status date on or

after the effective date of a declaration filed with the recording

officer and on every assessment roll thereafter, the assessor shall

enter each unit as a parcel, as provided in paragraph (a) of this

subdivision, based upon the condition and ownership of each such unit on

the appropriate valuation and taxable status dates. Units owned by a

developer may be entered as a single parcel with a parcel description

corresponding to the entire development, including the land under such

development, and excluding those units appearing separately. Upon the

first assessment roll where each unit is separately assessed, only an

individual unit and its common interest shall constitute a parcel.

(f) The provisions of paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall not

apply to a converted condominium unit in a municipal corporation other

than a special assessing unit, which has adopted, prior to the taxable

status date of the assessment roll upon which its taxes will be levied,

a local law or, for a school district, a resolution providing that the

provisions of paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall not apply to a

converted condominium unit within that municipal corporation. A

converted condominium unit for purposes of this paragraph shall mean a

dwelling unit held in condominium form of ownership that has previously

been on an assessment roll as a dwelling unit in other than condominium

form of ownership, and has not been previously subject to the provisions

of paragraph (b) of this subdivision.

(g) The provisions of paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall not

apply to real property owned or leased by a cooperative corporation or

on a condominium basis in the Town of Greenburgh, in Westchester County,

which has adopted, prior to the taxable status date of the assessment

roll upon which its taxes will be levied, a local law providing that the

provisions of paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall not apply to such

real property within such town; provided, however, the provisions of

this paragraph shall not apply to real property owned or leased by a

cooperative corporation or on a condominium basis that had been

previously subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this

subdivision prior to January first, two thousand twenty-three; provided

further, however, the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to

real property owned or leased by a cooperative corporation or on a

condominium basis that is participating in an affordable housing tax

credit program or has a regulatory agreement with a federal, state, or

local agency related to affordable housing requirements.

2. With respect only to qualified leasehold condominiums:

(a) Each unit, its common interest, not including any personal

property, and the proportionate undivided part of the real property

which is the subject of a qualified leasehold condominium and is

allocated to such unit (as expressed in the declaration), shall be

deemed to be a parcel, shall be subject to separate assessment to the

unit owner and shall be subject to taxation by each assessing unit,

school district, special district, county or other taxing unit for all

types of taxes authorized by law including, but not limited to, special

ad valorem levies and special assessments. Neither the real property

which is the subject of a qualified leasehold condominium, the building,

the property nor any of the common elements shall be deemed to be a

parcel. In no event shall the aggregate of the assessment of the units

plus their common interests plus their proportionate undivided parts (as

expressed in the declaration) of said real property exceed the total

valuation of the property and said real property assessed as a single

parcel owned in fee. No provision of this paragraph shall be deemed to

subject to taxation any parcel or part thereof which, pursuant to

applicable law, is either exempt from taxation or with respect to which

no taxes are payable.

(b) For the purposes of section five hundred two of the real property

tax law, both the unit owner and the owner of the real property which is

the subject of a qualified leasehold condominium shall be deemed to be

the owner of the parcel in which such unit is included; provided,

however, that for the purposes of section nine hundred twenty-six of the

real property tax law, only the unit owner shall be deemed the owner of

the parcel in which such unit is included and only the unit owner shall

be personally liable for the payment of any taxes assessed against such

parcel. Only the fee owner of the land which is the subject of a

qualified leasehold condominium, however, shall be deemed to be the

owner of the parcel in which a unit is included for the purposes of

determining whether such parcel is subject to or exempt from taxation or

whether no taxes are payable with respect thereto.

(c) The taxes assessed against each unit, its common interest and the

proportionate undivided part of the real property which is the subject

of a qualified leasehold condominium allocated to such unit (as

expressed in the declaration), shall constitute a lien solely on that

unit, its common interest and the proportionate undivided part of said

real property allocated to such unit (as expressed in the declaration),

and such taxes shall not constitute a lien on any other unit or the

common interest of any other unit or the proportionate undivided part of

said real property allocated to any other unit (as expressed in the

declaration).

(d) At such time as the real property which is the subject of a

qualified leasehold condominium is submitted to the provisions of this

article, the assessing unit shall make provision so that the real

property which (i) is not the subject of a qualified leasehold

condominium and (ii) immediately prior to such submission was included

in a parcel in which there also was included all or any part of the real

property which is (immediately subsequent to such submission) the

subject of a qualified leasehold condominium, is established as a single

parcel on the assessment roll and tax map of such assessing unit,

separate and apart from any real property which is the subject of a

qualified leasehold condominium.

3. All provisions of a declaration relating to a unit, its common

interest and the proportionate undivided part of the real property which

is the subject of a qualified leasehold condominium allocated to such

unit (as expressed in the declaration), which has been sold for taxes

shall survive and shall be enforceable after the issuance of a tax deed

for such unit to the same extent that such provisions would be

enforceable against a voluntary grantee of such unit immediately prior

to the delivery of such tax deed.

4. The board of managers may act as an agent of each unit owner who

has given his written authorization to seek administrative and judicial

review of an assessment made in accordance with subdivision one of this

section, pursuant to title one-A of article five and title one of

article seven of the real property tax law. The board of managers may

retain legal counsel on behalf of all unit owners for which it is acting

as agent and to charge all such unit owners a pro rata share of

expenses, disbursements and legal fees for which charges the board of

managers shall have a lien pursuant to section three hundred

thirty-nine-z.

5. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law

to the contrary, in a city having a population of one million or more,

the board of managers shall be authorized to act as the sole agent on

behalf of all unit owners, without authorization of each unit owner, for

the limited purpose of determining whether or not to waive prospectively

the benefit of real property tax abatement and exemption for the

property in order to qualify for a partial abatement of real property

taxes pursuant to section four hundred sixty-seven-a of the real

property tax law.