In New York City, residential buildings fall into the following categories:
Rental Building: In this category, the owning entity owns the entire building. The tenancy pays rent to the ownership. The apartments may be under rent regulation or free market. A rental building may be a walkup, elevator, townhouse, brownstone, or a luxury hi-rise building. The ownership holds the responsibility of maintaining the premises. All rental applications are approved by ownership (see New York City Rental Guide). Approximately 75-80% of all New York City residents live in rental buildings.
Condominium (Condo) Building: A NYC comdominium building is comprised of units owned by individuals for the purpose of residing in them or renting them as investment. Condos are a very liberal form of real estate ownership in Manhattan making them very popular amongst foreign invertors. This type of ownership is similar to owning real property - the owner holds the deed to the property. Every condominium owner is responsible for paying their share of real estate taxes and their share of common charges to maintain the property. Applications for all purchasers and renters must be submitted to the Board of Managers for approval. Today, the majority of new constructions introduced to the real estate market are condominiums.
Cooperative (Co-ops) Buildings: A co-op building is a form of real estate ownership which is structured much like a corporation. In this type of ownership the individual holds shares of the corporation and not a deed to real property. The shareholder is granted a long term proprietary lease to reside in the apartment which is renewable upon expiration. The cooperative is responsible to maintain the property, pay the real estate taxes and make general decisions about the building. Every shareholder is responisble to pay a monthly maintenace fee in accordance with their share of ownership. Every application to purchase or sublease must be reviewed and approved by the board and the building management. The largest percentage of apartments owned in NYC are co-ops.
