* § 327-a. Modification of restrictive covenants. 1. As used in this\nsection, the following terms shall have the following meanings:\n (a) "Protected class" shall mean any class or category of persons\nprotected from unlawful discriminatory practices under subdivision five\nof section two hundred ninety-six of the executive law.\n (b) "Unlawful restrictions" shall mean any covenants, conditions, or\nrestrictions that unlawfully discriminate on the basis of a protected\nclass in violation of state or federal law.\n 2. If any unlawful restrictions exist in a document to be recorded,\nany seller shall:\n (a) have such unlawful restrictions removed from such document by\nsubmitting a restrictive covenant modification document, which shall be\navailable from the county recorder, either with the deed for recording,\nor separately;\n (b) provide the purchaser or title insurance applicant with a copy of\nthe appropriate restrictive covenant modification document prior to or\nat the closing of title; and\n (c) record the restrictive covenant modification document, however,\nsuch seller shall not be required to pay filing fees for the recording\nof the restrictive covenant modification document.\n 3. Within one year of the effective date of this section, the board of\nmanagers of a condominium, the board of directors of a cooperative\napartment corporation or a homeowners association if such real property\nis subject to the rules and regulations of such an association, shall\ndelete or amend any unlawful restrictions that exist in a recorded\ndocument. Such deletions or amendments shall not be subject to the\napproval of property owners.\n 4. The restrictive covenant modification document that shall be made\navailable from the county recorder pursuant to subdivision six of this\nsection shall be indexed in the same manner as any previously recorded\ndocument or documents to which the modification document refers and\nshall reference the original document by book and page number or\ninstrument number and the date of recording.\n 5. Any person holding an ownership interest in real property that such\nperson believes is subject to an unlawful restriction may record a\nrestrictive covenant modification document pursuant to subdivision two\nof this section. Such recording shall include a complete copy of the\noriginal document containing the unlawful restriction with the unlawful\nrestriction stricken and shall be signed under penalty of law.\n 6. The county recorder shall make available to the public forms for\npreparation of a restrictive covenant modification document.\n 7. If the holder of an ownership interest in property causes to be\nrecorded a restrictive covenant modification document pursuant to this\nsection which contains language not authorized by this section, any\nliability which derives from such recording shall be the sole\nresponsibility of the holder of the ownership interest of record and the\ncounty recorder shall not incur any liability for recording such\ndocument.\n 8. This section shall not apply to any lawful covenants, conditions,\nor restrictions under state or federal law.\n * NB Effective June 3, 2026\n
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