Real Property Law Section Blog

Memoranda drafted by members of the Real Property Section's Legislative Committee on Bills under consideration in the New York State Legislature are posted to the www.nysba.org at the following address:

http://www.nysba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Legislative_Memoranda_2009_20101&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=25717

New York State's Budget, Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2009, has changed the interest rates to be charged on late payments and assessments for the mortgage recording tax and the State's Real Estate Transfer Tax effective April 7, 2009. The interest rate for late payments and for assessments is 8% per annum compounded daily for the period April 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009. The rate for the period January 1, 2009 through March 31, 2009 was 7% per annum compounded daily, and the rate for the period April 1, 2009 through April 6, 2009 was 6% per annum compounded daily. The interest rate for refunds for the period April 1, 2009 through June 30, 20098 is 3% per annum compounded daily. The Department of Taxation and Finance's press release is posted at http://www.tax.state.ny.us/press/2009/int0409.htm.

The 2009 versions of New York State Department of Taxation and Finance's Non-Resident Real Property Estimated Income Tax Payment Form ("IT-2663") and "Non-Resident Cooperative Unit Estimated Income Tax Payment Form" (IT-2664") have been revised to reflect the recent change in the applicable personal income tax rate on the sale or transfer of real property in New York from 6.85% to 8.97%. The prior versions of these forms for 2009 are not to be used as doing so would incorrectly calculate the tax.

A box in the upper right corner of the forms identifies the version to be used by reference to "(4/09").

The previously issued Instructions for 2009 have not been changed.

The revised forms can be obtained on the Department's web site at http://www.tax.state.ny.us/forms/form_number_order_income.htm

The New York City Register has advised a committee of the New York State Land Title Association that Condominium Declarations and Floor Plans may now be submitted for recording in any of the offices of the City Register, regardless of the County within the City (excepting Staten Island, which is not a part of the City Register's office) in which the property is located. In addition, the Department of Finance intends to require that all condominium Floor Plans be submitted to the City Surveyor's Office on 8 ½" X 11" sized paper, enabling their recording and viewing in ACRIS (the Department's "Automated City Register Information System").

The City Register has advised that the effective date of this change is presently intended to be June 1, 2009 and that the Department of Finance will issue a notice of the procedure before the effective date.

New York State's Budget, enacted on April 7, 2009 as Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2009, amends Subdivision "3" of Real Property Law Section 333 ("When conveyance of real property not to be recorded") to increase the filing fee for the State Board of Real Property Services Real Property Transfer Report, generally known as the RP-5217 and the RP-5217NYC or as the Equalization and Assessment Form. The increased fees are required for all deeds submitted for recording on and after June 1, 2009. When the property being transferred is a “Qualifying residential property” or a “Qualifying farm property” the filing fee will increase from the $75.00 now being charged to $125.00. The filing fee for the transfer of any other type of property will increase from the $165.00 now being charged to $250.00. The fee to file the New York City Real Property Transfer Tax Return when the Equalization and Assessment form is not required to be filed, such as on the transfer of a cooperative interest or of a controlling economic interest, will increase from $50.00 to $100.00

“Qualified residential property” is defined in Section 333 as property which satisfies at least one of the following conditions:

1. The property classification code assigned to the property on the latest final assessment roll, as reported on the transfer report form, indicates that the property is a one, two, or three family home or a rural residence, or

2. The transfer report (Equalization and Assessment) form indicates that the property is one, two or three family residential property that has been newly constructed on vacant land, or

3. The transfer report (Equalization and Assessment) form indicates that the property is a residential condominium.

“Qualifying farm property” is defined in Section 333 as property for which the property classification code on the latest final assessment roll, as reported on the transfer report (Equalization and Assessment) form, is in the agricultural category.

In a press release issued February 2, 2009, The City of New York announced a program to require architects and engineers filing applications for new buildings or major enlargements of existing buildings to upload to the Department of Buildings' website a new Zoning Diagram Form ZD1 and other documents when building plans are filed. The Zoning Diagram will detail "critical information that can be used by the public to determine whether a project is in compliance with required zoning regulations". There will be a thirty-day period following the document upload within which the public can challenge the proposed development. The ZD1 is not required for applications for which the initial document reached "application processed" status prior to March 9, 2009. The press release, announcing that New York is the "First City in the Nation to put Development Diagrams Online", is posted on the City's website at http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2009a/pr055-09.html.