Effective June 3, 2026: New Requirements for Discriminatory Restrictive Covenants in New York
New York Real Property Law § 327-a, effective June 3, 2026, establishes a formal process for removing unlawful discriminatory restrictive covenants from the public record and creates certain obligations for sellers in real estate transactions. An example of the form can be found here.
What Is Changing?
Historically, some deeds, declarations, and other recorded real estate documents contained restrictive language that discriminated against protected classes. While these provisions have long been unenforceable under state and federal law, the new statute provides a mechanism to formally remove this language from recorded land records.
Seller Requirements
If a recorded document affecting the property contains an unlawful discriminatory restrictive covenant, the seller must:
• Submit a Restrictive Covenant Modification Document for recording, either with the deed or separately;
• Provide a copy of the Restrictive Covenant Modification Document to the purchaser or title insurance applicant prior to or at closing; and
• Record the Restrictive Covenant Modification Document. No recording fee is required.
Requirements for Common Interest Communities
The law also requires condominium boards, cooperative apartment corporations, and homeowners’ associations to amend or remove unlawful discriminatory restrictions contained in their recorded governing documents within one year of the statute’s effective date.
Impact on Real Estate Transactions
Real estate professionals should be aware that this new law may affect transactions involving deeds, declarations, condominium documents, cooperative documents, and homeowners’ association records where discriminatory restrictive language exists in the chain of title or governing documents.
At this time, the statute does not impose any obligations on title insurance agents or title companies. However, awareness of these requirements can help facilitate compliance and avoid closing delays.
If you have questions regarding this new legislation or its impact on your transactions, please contact our office.