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Protect yourself and your home.

Learn your rights. Talk to your neighbors, form a tenants and shareholders association, and make your voices heard. All New Yorkers deserve equitable housing. It's up to us to protect ourselves, and up to us to demand systematic change.

The following is important information for both renters in co-ops and buyers.

Tenants in Brooklyn, Queens or Staten Island who should have conscionable rent.

Send Email to Council Members

Send Email to the Attorney General

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Or copy paste the text below into your favorite document program and print and mail to:
Letita James
NYS Attorney General
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341

Dear [Government Official],

I am writing to you for your help. I am a tenant in a sponsor unit of a co-op building where the sponsor has been charging profiteering rents in violation of the Martin Act which states rent increases must be comparable, and Paikoff vs. Harris, 1998.

There are currently no means to compel sponsors to follow the Paikoff vs. Harris ruling or the Martin Act and keep rent increases conscionable, unless tenants can raise the funds for long legal battles against deep-pocketed real estate moguls.

The promise of the cooperative movement in New York City was that middle-class New Yorkers could finally become homeowners. Instead sponsors are denying low to middle class New Yorkers the opportunity to purchase their units and using co-ops to run unregulated rental businesses charging these same individuals profiteering rents. Many rent stabilized apartments have been lost because of these practices, and many long-term low to middle class renters lost out on the opportunity to buy their units at an affordable price.

This situation calls for systemic change. New Yorkers deserve a more equitable housing system that:
1. Protects both co-op shareholders and long-term renters’ rights
2. Ensures that the original intent of co-op conversions is maintained
3. Prevents sponsors from controlling converted buildings indefinitely

Implementing such changes would help create a fairer housing market and honor New York City’s cooperative ownership spirit. It's time to address these long-standing issues and provide New Yorkers with the housing rights and protections they deserve.

Sincerely,

Tenants in Manhattan or Bronx who should be stabilized.

Send Email to Council Members

Send Email to the Attorney General

-
Or copy paste the text below into your favorite document program and print and mail to:
Letita James
NYS Attorney General
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341

Dear [Government Official],

I am writing to you for your help. I am a tenant in a sponsor unit of a co-op building where the sponsor is not selling apartments, instead he is running an unregulated rental business in which he has been charging profiteering rents.

In 2019, the Attorney General stepped in and re-regulated the units of two co-op buildings in Manhattan that were converted from residential rental buildings to co-ops in the late 1980s where the sponsor had stopped selling shares as they are required to do to operate as a co-op. All tenants in the buildings in question became entitled to rent-stabilized leases at affordable rents and all apartments in each building became subject to rent stabilization rules. There are currently no means to compel sponsors to re-regulate units, unless tenants can raise the funds for legal battles against deep-pocketed real estate moguls.

The promise of the cooperative movement in New York City was that middle-class New Yorkers could finally become homeowners. Instead sponsors are denying low to middle class New Yorkers the opportunity to purchase their units and using co-ops to run unregulated rental businesses charging these same individuals profiteering rents. Many rent stabilized apartments have been lost because of these practices, and many long-term low to middle class renters lost out on the opportunity to buy their units at an affordable price.

This situation calls for systemic change. New Yorkers deserve a more equitable housing system that:
1. Protects both co-op shareholders and long-term renters’ rights
2. Ensures that the original intent of co-op conversions is maintained
3. Prevents sponsors from controlling converted buildings indefinitely

Implementing such changes would help create a fairer housing market and honor New York City’s cooperative ownership spirit. It's time to address these long-standing issues and provide New Yorkers with the housing rights and protections they deserve.

Sincerely,

Shareholders who don't have control of their investments.

Send Email to Council Members

Send Email to the Attorney General

-
Or copy paste the text below into your favorite document program and print and mail to:
Letita James
NYS Attorney General
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341

Dear [Government Official],

I am writing to you for your help. I am a shareholder in a cooperative apartment building that is still controlled by the sponsor decades after being converted to a co-op.

Sponsors with large holdings have undue control over building management and finances preventing resident shareholders from having a say in how the co-operative is run. It also keeps low-and-moderate income shareholders with little control of their investment.

Allowing sponsors to hold the majority of shares in a co-operative is a threat to affordable housing. Many rent stabilized apartments have been lost because of these practices. Instead of creating homes for low to middle income New Yorkers sponsors instead can charge profiteering rents.

In 2002, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that sponsors have an obligation to create a fully viable co-ops. Yet there are still no means to compel sponsors to sell, unless shareholders and tenants can raise the funds for legal battles against deep-pocketed real estate moguls.

The promise of the cooperative movement in New York City was that middle-class New Yorkers could finally become homeowners. Individuals who invest in these apartments should be entitled to genuine co-op ownership. Similarly, long-term renters who were shut out of the opportunity to purchase their units deserve the chance to buy at a fair price.

This situation calls for systemic change. New Yorkers deserve a more equitable housing system that:
1. Protects both co-op shareholders and long-term renters’ rights
2. Ensures that the original intent of co-op conversions is maintained
3. Prevents sponsors from controlling converted buildings indefinitely

Implementing such changes would help create a fairer housing market and honor New York City’s cooperative ownership spirit. It's time to address these long-standing issues and provide New Yorkers with the housing rights and protections they deserve.

Sincerely,

Not all co-ops are real co-ops

Some co-ops in New York City originated as rent-stabilized buildings that landlords were authorized to convert. After an initial conversion period, co-op sponsors are expected to sell their units in good faith as they become vacant. However, many sponsors exploit legal loopholes to retain ownership of large portions of their buildings, effectively treating these co-ops as rental properties.

Individuals who invest in these co-ops should be entitled to genuine cooperative ownership. They rightfully expect to have a meaningful say in their building's governance and financial decisions. Similarly, long-term renters who were not offered the opportunity to purchase their units when they moved in deserve the chance to buy their apartments at a fair price.

While shareholders and renters have the option to seek fairness and justice through litigation, legal proceedings are often time-consuming and financially burdensome.

New Yorkers deserve a more equitable housing system.

This situation calls for a systemic change that:
1. Protects the rights of both co-op owners and long-term renters
2. Ensures that the original intent of co-op conversion is upheld
3. Prevents sponsors from indefinitely maintaining control over converted buildings
Implementing such changes would help create a fairer housing market and honor New York City’s cooperative ownership spirit. It's time to address these long-standing issues and provide New Yorkers with the housing rights and protections they deserve.

At least one co-op has successfully sued their sponsor for failing to sell as apartments become vacant, based on a breach of the sponsor’s implied agreement in the offering plan to sell as many apartments as possible.

A second case decided that a sponsor who fails to sell apartments as they become vacant could be deemed to have committed objectionable conduct, entitling the co-op to terminate the proprietary leases allocated to all of the unsold apartments.¹

¹ The New York Times.When a Co-op Sponsor Persists in Renting Units

Most co-op sponsor tenants should be regulated

Co-ops in New York City where sponsors fail to sell units in good faith have effectively become re-regulated by the Attorney General. A co-op may be considered a "sham" if it lacks a current offering plan and the sponsor isn't selling units in a timely fashion, even if not 100% sponsor-owned.^2,3

The 1998 Paikoff v. Harris case upheld the Martin Act and ruled that sponsor-owned units in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island are subject to regulation including lease renewals and rent increases must not be unconscionable. However, tenants bear the burden of enforcing these rights through costly litigation. To address these issues, the following are needed:
1. Strict enforcement of co-op regulations
2. Clear definitions of "sham" co-ops
3. Revised statute of limitations for rent overcharges
4. Improved tenant support and education
These changes would help restore the intended function of co-ops, ensuring fair, cooperative ownership opportunities and tenant protection.

² Housing Wire. New York Landlord Accused of Running Sham Co-ops, Overcharging Renters for Decades

³ landlordtenantlaw.net. When a Co-op Is Not a Co-op

Start a Tenants Association

NYC real estate is a feral space. Tenants must assert their rights themselves, and collectively as a group, tenants have more power. Associations allow tenants to apply pressure to a landloard to get needed repairs. As a tenant assiociation you can also collectively apply pressure to the Attorney General's office to investigate your co-op. If your co-op sponsor is renting vacant units instead of selling them in good faith, it's considered a 'sham' co-op and the AG will re-regulate market rate units.

Your right to organization a tenant's association is protected. A landlord cannot retaliate against you for forming one. You also have the right to meet on the building premises.

The Martin Act

The Martin Act was created to stabilize neighborhoods by promoting homeownership while protecting non-participating tenants during building conversions (1982 N.Y. Laws, ch 555 §§ 1, 9). Key provisions include:
1. Rent-regulated tenants, seniors, and disabled individuals can remain in their apartments with succession rights.
2. Sponsors are prohibited from interfering with tenants' quiet enjoyment of their units.
3. Non-regulated tenants in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island are entitled to lease renewals and protection from excessive rent increases but must litigate to preserve these rights.

The Martin Act also restricts sponsor behavior, prohibiting:
• Board control by sponsors
• Additional sponsor employees on the board
• Unlicensed employees selling units
However, the Attorney General's office currently leaves enforcement to buyers and tenants, who must hire lawyers and litigate to address unfair treatment or resolve issues. This approach places the burden of upholding the Act's intentions on individual residents rather than regulatory authorities. More about the Martin Act here.

Excerpts from the Martin Act that apply to renters

SECTION 352-EEEE Conversions to cooperative or condominium ownership in the city of New York General Business (GBS) CHAPTER 20, ARTICLE 23-A

2. C. 2.
(ii) No eviction proceedings will be commenced at any time against non-purchasing tenants for failure to purchase or any other reason applicable to expiration of tenancy; provided that such proceedings may be commenced for non-payment of rent, illegal use or occupancy of the premises, refusal of reasonable access to the owner or a similar breach by the non-purchasing tenant of his obligations to the owner of the dwelling unit or the shares allocated thereto; and provided further that an owner of a unit or of the shares allocated thereto may not commence an action to recover possession of a dwelling unit from a non-purchasing tenant on the grounds that he seeks the dwelling unit for the use and occupancy of himself or his family.

(iii-vi) All senior citizens and disabled people are protected from eviction. And their units remain regulated if they are regulated.

(viii) The rentals of non-purchasing tenants who reside in dwelling units not subject to government regulation as to rentals and continued occupancy and non-purchasing tenants who reside in dwelling units with respect to which government regulation as to rentals and continued occupancy is eliminated or becomes inapplicable after the plan has been accepted for filing by the attorney general shall not be subject to unconscionable increases beyond ordinary rentals for comparable apartments during the period of their occupancy. In determining comparability, consideration shall be given to such factors as building services, level of maintenance and operating expenses

(vii) Non-purchasing tenants who reside in dwelling units subject to government regulation as to rentals and continued occupancy prior to the conversion of the building or group of buildings or development to cooperative or condominium ownership shall continue to be subject Thereto.

(xii) The tenants in occupancy on the date the attorney general accepts the plan for filing shall have the exclusive right to purchase their dwelling units or the shares allocated thereto for ninety days after the plan is accepted for filing by the attorney general, during which time a tenant's dwelling unit shall not be shown to a third party unless he or she has, in writing, waived his or her right to purchase; subsequent to the expiration of such ninety day period, a tenant in occupancy of a dwelling unit who has not purchased shall be given the exclusive right for an additional period of six months from said expiration date to purchase said dwelling unit or the shares allocated thereto on the same terms and conditions as are contained in an executed contract to purchase said dwelling unit or shares entered into by a bona fide purchaser, such exclusive right to be exercisable within fifteen days from the date of mailing by registered mail of notice of the execution of a contract of sale together with a copy of said executed contract to said tenant.

3. All dwelling units occupied by non-purchasing tenants shall be managed by the same managing agent who manages all other dwelling units in the building or group of buildings or development. Such managing agent shall provide to non-purchasing tenants all services and facilities required by law on a non-discriminatory basis. The offeror shall guarantee the obligation of the managing agent to provide all such services and facilities until such time as the offeror surrenders control to the board of directors or board of managers, at which time the cooperative corporation or the condominium association shall assume responsibility for the provision of all services and facilities required by law on a non-discriminatory basis.

4. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any course of conduct, including, but not limited to, interruption or discontinuance of essential services, which substantially interferes with or disturbs the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of any tenant in his use or occupancy of his dwelling unit or the facilities related thereto. The attorney general may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order restraining such conduct and, if he deems it appropriate, an order restraining the owner from selling the shares allocated to the dwelling unit or the dwelling unit itself or from proceeding with the plan of conversion; provided that nothing contained herein shall be deemed to preclude the tenant from applying on his own behalf for similar relief.

Posters

Download the posters. Print them out and post them in your building and neighborhood.