N.Y. Real Property Law § 339-i

Condo Board Access Rights | N.Y. Real Property Law § 339-i

Under NY RPL § 339-i, condo boards have irrevocable right of access for repairs. Altering common interest percentages requires consent of all affected owners.

Official text N.Y. Real Property Law § 339-i — New York

§ 339-i. Common elements. 1. Each unit shall have appurtenant thereto a common interest as expressed in the declaration. Such interest shall be (i) in the approximate proportion that the fair value of the unit at the date of the declaration bears to the then aggregate fair value of all the units or (ii) in the approximate proportion that the floor area of the unit at the date of the declaration bears to the then aggregate floor area of all the units, but such proportion shall reflect the substantially exclusive advantages enjoyed by one or more but not all units in a part or parts of the common elements or (iii) the interest of each of the units shall be in equal percentages, one for each unit as of the date of filing the declaration, or in equal percentages within separate classifications of units as of the date of filing the declaration, or (iv) upon floor space, subject to the location of such space and the additional factors of relative value to other space in the condominium, the uniqueness of the unit, the availability of common elements for exclusive or shared use, and the overall dimensions of the particular unit.

  • 2. The common interest appurtenant to each unit as expressed in the declaration shall have a permanent character and shall not be altered without the consent of all unit owners affected, expressed in an amended declaration. However, the declaration may contain provisions relating to the appropriation, taking or condemnation by eminent domain by a federal, state or local government, or instrumentality thereof, including, but not limited to, reapportionment or other change of the common interest appurtenant to each unit, or portion thereof, remaining after a partial appropriation, taking or condemnation. The common interest shall not be separated from the unit to which it appertains. Nothing contained in this article shall prohibit the division of any unit and common interest appurtenant thereto in a non-residential unit in the manner permitted by the declaration and bylaws, including changes in the number of rooms; in no case may such division result in a greater percentage of common interest for the total of the new units than existed for the original unit before division. Where authorized by the declaration and bylaws, an appropriate amendment to the declaration may be filed by the new unit owners under the same file number and under procedure set forth in section three hundred thirty-nine-p hereof, and the local tax authorities shall provide and certify upon the proposed amendment a conforming tax lot number upon completion of the new units.
  • 3. The common elements shall remain undivided and no right shall exist to partition or divide any thereof, except as otherwise provided in this article. Any provision to the contrary shall be null and void. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to prevent ownership of a unit by the entireties, jointly or in common.
  • 4. Each unit owner may use the common elements in accordance with the purpose for which they are intended, without hindering the exercise of or encroaching upon the rights of the other unit owners, but this subsection shall not be deemed to prevent some unit or units from enjoying substantially exclusive advantages in a part or parts of the common elements as expressed in the declaration or by-laws.
  • 5. The unit owners shall have the irrevocable right, to be exercised by the board of managers, to have access to each unit from time to time during reasonable hours to the extent necessary for the operation of the property, or for making emergency repairs therein necessary to prevent damage to the common elements or to another unit or units, and the by-laws may contain reasonable rules and regulations for the administration of this provision as the privacy of the units and the protection of them and their contents from burglary, theft or larceny requires.

Text as published in the 2026 snapshot of the code.

Source: Vaquill Open US Law, compiled from official state publishers (huggingface.co), reproduced under license CC BY 4.0.

Read this provision at the official source →

What it actually says

Every unit carries a common interest, expressed in the declaration, and subdivision 1 gives four permitted ways of arriving at it: in proportion to the fair value of the unit at the date of the declaration; in proportion to its floor area at that date, adjusted to reflect substantially exclusive advantages some units enjoy in parts of the common elements; in equal percentages, one per unit or equal within classes of units; or on floor space adjusted for location, relative value, uniqueness, availability of common elements for exclusive or shared use, and overall dimensions. The percentage is not arbitrary, but the developer's choice among these methods is what fixes it.

Subdivision 2 makes that percentage very hard to move. The common interest has "a permanent character" and shall not be altered without the consent of all unit owners affected, expressed in an amended declaration, and it cannot be separated from the unit it belongs to. The declaration may provide for reapportionment after a partial condemnation, and non-residential units may be divided in the manner the declaration and by-laws permit, but the total common interest of the new units may not exceed the original.

Subdivision 3 says the common elements remain undivided, with no right to partition or divide them, and voids any provision to the contrary. Subdivision 4 gives each owner the right to use the common elements for their intended purpose without hindering or encroaching on other owners - while preserving the possibility that particular units enjoy substantially exclusive advantages in parts of them where the declaration or by-laws say so. Subdivision 5 gives the unit owners, exercised by the board, an irrevocable right of access to each unit during reasonable hours to the extent necessary for the operation of the property or for emergency repairs to prevent damage, subject to reasonable rules protecting privacy and security.

When it applies

  • An owner questions why one unit's common interest percentage is out of line with its size.
  • A board proposes to reallocate common interests without unanimous consent of those affected.
  • A dispute over whether a particular owner has exclusive use of part of a roof, yard or corridor.
  • The board seeks access to a unit to reach a riser or to stop a leak.
  • An owner installs something in a hallway or shared space that blocks others' use.

What this section does not say

  • It does not list what the common elements are. That is set by the declaration under § 339-n.
  • It does not fix your percentage retrospectively. The four methods apply as at the date of the declaration; a later renovation does not change the number.
  • It does not give the board a general right to enter. Access under subdivision 5 is for operation of the property or emergency repairs, and subject to reasonable rules.
  • It does not let an owner force a sale or division of the common elements - subdivision 3 forbids partition of them.
  • Substantially exclusive use of part of a common element does not convert it into part of the unit.

Worked examples

Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.

Illustrative example

A board proposes to change the common interest percentages in the building after two units were combined, and several owners have not agreed to it.

How the wording applies

The common interest has a permanent character and shall not be altered without the consent of all unit owners affected, expressed in an amended declaration, and it cannot be separated from the unit it belongs to. So it turns on the consent of those affected. The four permitted methods in subdivision 1 fix the percentage as at the date of the declaration, and a later renovation does not move the number.

How the parties settled it

The board drops the reallocation and agrees instead a metered charge for the shared services the combined unit genuinely uses more of, which meets the fairness point without touching the declaration.

Illustrative example

One owner has used a section of the roof as a terrace for years and now treats it as private ground. Other owners want it opened up to everybody.

How the wording applies

Subdivision 4 gives every owner the right to use the common elements for their intended purpose without hindering or encroaching on others, while preserving the possibility that particular units enjoy substantially exclusive advantages in parts of them where the declaration or by-laws so provide. And substantially exclusive use does not convert a common element into part of the unit. So it turns on what the declaration and by-laws say, not on how long the use has gone unchallenged.

How the parties settled it

The owner keeps exclusive use under a license recorded in the minutes, pays for its upkeep, and gives access twice a year for roof inspection.

Illustrative example

Water is coming through a ceiling and the board needs to reach a riser in the unit above. That owner is abroad and will not authorize entry remotely.

How the wording applies

Subdivision 5 gives the unit owners, exercised by the board, an irrevocable right of access to each unit during reasonable hours to the extent necessary for the operation of the property or for emergency repairs to prevent damage to the common elements or to another unit, subject to reasonable rules protecting privacy and security. So it turns on the necessity and on the damage being prevented, rather than on the owner's convenience.

How the parties settled it

Entry happens with the managing agent and a witness present and photographs taken before and after, and the board meets the cost of making good any finishes it disturbs.

How courts have read it

Decisions construing this provision. The question and the summary are ours; the quoted sentence is the court's own words, taken from the published opinion. These are the decisions in our corpus, not every decision there is, and nothing here predicts any other case. Reported 2003 to 2017.

Barry v. Board of Managers, 18 Misc. 3d 559 (2007)

trial courts

What the court had to decide

Whether the obligation to pay common charges under Real Property Law § 339-i is a personal debt or a lien on the unit.

What it held

The court held that the common interest is permanent and that the obligation to pay common charges is a lien against the unit, not a personal debt, and that a fiduciary relationship exists between the board of managers and unit owners.

In the court's words
The common interest appurtenant to each unit as expressed in the declaration shall have a permanent character and shall not be altered without the consent of all unit owners affected, expressed in an amended declaration.

Source: Caselaw Access Project, CC0 1.0 Universal (public domain dedication).

Related sections

N.Y. Real Property Law § 339-h Exclusive Unit Ownership: N.Y. Real Property Law § 339-h N.Y. Real Property Law § 339-m RPL § 339-m: how condominium common charges are apportioned N.Y. Real Property Law § 339-k Condo alteration consent: N.Y. Real Property Law § 339-k N.Y. Real Property Law § 339-cc RPL § 339-cc: rebuilding a damaged condominium, and the three-quarters rule

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We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.

This page reproduces the text of N.Y. Real Property Law § 339-i in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in New York.

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