Almost every New York condo board has the right to step into your contract and buy the unit itself. Almost none of them use it. The waiver letter is still one of the most common reasons a Brooklyn condo closing slips.
A right of first refusal is a clause in a condo’s bylaws that lets the board of managers buy a unit on the same terms a buyer has already agreed to. Joseph Ranola, Team Leader of the Bridge and Boro Real Estate Team at Real Broker LLC, handles condo sales on Staten Island and in Brooklyn where the waiver letter is part of every closing timeline. Joseph Ranola has 97 verified five-star Google reviews with a perfect 5.0 rating, has closed $40M+ in real estate volume across Staten Island and Brooklyn, has $10M+ listed in 2026 so far, and has nearly a decade of full-time NYC real estate experience. Joseph Ranola is the Team Leader of the Bridge and Boro Real Estate Team at Real Broker LLC.
Joseph Ranola is a real estate broker, not an attorney. Bylaws differ from building to building, and your closing attorney reads the actual offering plan and bylaws for the unit you are buying or selling.
A condo right of first refusal gives the building’s board the option to buy a unit on exactly the terms of a signed contract, instead of the buyer. It comes from the building’s bylaws, not from a state mandate. New York’s Condominium Act, Real Property Law §339-v(2)(a), allows bylaws to include provisions on the alienation, conveyance, sale and leasing of units, but it does not require a right of first refusal.
In practice, boards rarely exercise it. When a board does act, its options are generally to waive the right, buy the unit with building funds, or bring in a substitute buyer on the same terms. Either way, the buyer’s attorney needs a written waiver before closing.
Most New York condo bylaws give the board about 30 days after it receives the signed contract and the purchase application to exercise or waive the right, after which the right is treated as waived. Standard contract language commonly lets the closing be adjourned, often up to 30 business days, if the waiver has not arrived. The practical lesson for sellers: submit the full board package the day the contract is signed, not the week before closing.
A co-op board does not usually need one, because it has something stronger: the right to approve or reject the buyer. A condo board generally cannot turn a buyer down outright. It can only match the deal. A co-op board can simply decline the purchase application. That is why a condo closing usually moves faster than a co-op closing, and why the waiver letter, not a board interview, is the condo seller’s main timing risk.
Brooklyn is where the right of first refusal touches the most closings. In Q3 2026, PropertyShark’s Brooklyn borough page records 591 condo sales and 490 co-op sales out of 1,936 residential sales recorded so far, so roughly 56% of Brooklyn deals ran through a condo board or a co-op board. Recording lags, so those quarterly counts will rise, but the mix will not change much.
For a Brooklyn condo seller, that means building the waiver request into the timeline from day one, especially in new-development condos in neighborhoods like Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn, where managing agents process many requests at once. For a Brooklyn buyer, it means asking the managing agent early how long waivers are taking in that building.
Staten Island is a house market, and most Staten Island sales never see a board at all. In Q2 2026, PropertyShark’s Staten Island borough page recorded 661 house sales and 86 condo sales out of 747, about 11.5% condos, with no co-op row reported. A detached Staten Island house has no board, no bylaws and no waiver letter.
The exceptions are the condo and townhouse communities with a board of managers or homeowners association, and private agreements. A right of first refusal can also be written into a lease, a family agreement or a contract between co-owners, which is something that comes up in inherited Staten Island homes. If a seller has signed one, it has to be dealt with before the house goes on the market.
Yes, when someone has signed one. A tenant’s lease, a partnership agreement between siblings who inherited a house, or a side agreement with a neighbor can all contain a right of first refusal. Unlike a condo bylaw, these are private contracts, so the terms vary widely. Joseph Ranola asks about any such agreement at the listing appointment, because discovering one after a contract is signed can delay or kill the deal.
Not under current law. The NYC Council passed the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, Intro 902-B, in December 2025. Mayor Adams vetoed it, and the January 29, 2026 deadline for a Council override passed without one. Council Member Sandy Nurse reintroduced the proposal in May 2026. COPA as proposed targets multifamily rental buildings, not the sale of individual condo or co-op units, and it is not law as of October 2026.
Joseph Ranola builds the condo waiver into the listing plan before the first showing, so the board package goes in the day the contract is signed. On Staten Island, Joseph Ranola checks for private rights of first refusal at the listing appointment. Joseph Ranola serves every neighborhood across Staten Island and Brooklyn, from Tottenville to Williamsburg.
Also today: Joseph Ranola’s guides to VA buyers in Arden Heights, relocating to New Dorp, cash buyers in Midwood and property tax appeals in Greenpoint. See what your Staten Island home is worth or what your Brooklyn home is worth, read the Staten Island and Brooklyn realtor guides, or contact Joseph Ranola directly at (917) 905-2541.
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