The Market

State says bed bug disclosure law applies to co-ops too

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By Teri Karush Rogers  |
October 15, 2010 - 10:29AM
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This is going to make some co-op and condo sellers--and their brokers--very unhappy. 

The New York State Homes & Community Renewal division—the state agency in charge of implementing the New York City bed bug disclosure law passed in August--has ended six weeks of limbo by deciding that the new law also applies to co-ops and condos as well as rentals of co-ops and condos. Owners must disclose whether bed bugs have been found in the apartment in the past year or anywhere in the building, down to the exact floor.

It's good news for buyers--and for the law's author, State Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, who hopes to take the Bedbug Disclosure Act statewide next year.

“As the bedbug epidemic continues in this city, I want as many people to have access to the protections offered by my Bedbug Disclosure Act as possible,” Rosenthal emailed us  this morning. “I am always in favor of increased transparency, especially for New Yorkers making the difficult choice of where to raise their families. I’m also pleased that bedbug infestations are now, in many cases, being voluntarily disclosed during apartment sales, as buyers have increasingly demanded this protection."

As we reported last month, many lawyers and property managers had already been advising boards and apartment owners to “err on the side of caution” until confusion of over the scope of the law had been cleared up.

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Teri Karush Rogers

Founder & Publisher

Founder and publisher Teri Karush Rogers launched Brick Underground in 2009. As a freelance journalist, she had previously covered New York City real estate for The New York Times. Teri has been featured as an expert on New York City residential real estate by The New York Times, New York Daily News, amNew York, NBC Nightly News, The Real Deal, Business Insider, the Huffington Post, and NY1 News, among others. Teri earned a BA in journalism and a law degree from New York University.

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