New York Reserve Study Requirements: What Bill A8945 Means for Condo and Co-op Boards

New York Assembly Bill A8945 would require every condominium and cooperative association with more than $25,000 in common assets to complete a capital reserve study with a 30-year funding plan, review it annually, and file it with the State Comptroller. The bill is active in the Assembly Housing Committee. It is not law yet, but New Jersey passed its version in 2024 and gave boards one year to comply. Boards that start now will not scramble later.

What is Assembly Bill A8945?

A8945 is a pending New York bill, introduced by Assembly Member Jackson in July 2025, that would add a new section 339-mm to the Real Property Law. It directs condominium and cooperative housing associations to complete capital reserve studies "including a thirty-year funding plan" so that repairs can be funded "without the need to create any special assessment or loan obligation." The study must be performed or overseen by a credentialed Reserve Specialist, or a licensed engineer or architect in good standing with the state. Completed studies must be filed with the Office of the State Comptroller within 60 days, and the Comptroller can audit them and compel associations that have not complied. The full text is on the New York State Senate site.

What would A8945 require?

When would New York's reserve study mandate take effect?

The bill is in the Assembly Housing Committee and has not passed either chamber. If enacted, it takes effect 180 days after signing, and associations with no study in the prior five years get one year to complete one. That is the same one-year window New Jersey gave its associations in 2024, and the result there was booked-out engineering firms and boards paying peak prices. The pattern after the Surfside collapse is consistent: New Jersey acted, Florida acted, and New York rarely stays the outlier on building safety. For the full story of how the New Jersey deadline played out, read our guide to the NJ reserve study law S2760.

Why should boards act before the law passes?

The financial pressure is already here, mandate or not.

• Lending. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac expect roughly 15% reserve allocations. Buildings without a credible study can fail lender review, which blocks conventional mortgages for buyers and drags down unit values.
• Insurance. New York City premiums have surged roughly 103% since 2020. Insurers reward buildings with current data and a funded plan.
• Capital work is coming anyway. Local Law 97 emissions retrofits and FISP facade cycles mean most buildings face major projects within a decade.
• Special assessments. The average special assessment is $3,525 per unit, and it lands on owners who believed their monthly charges covered everything.

Why can't a static PDF satisfy an annual-review law?

A8945 requires the board and the property manager to review the study every year to confirm the reserve balance covers the year ahead. A traditional study is a snapshot: it costs $10,000 to $40,000 in New York City, takes 60 to 90 days, and starts going stale the day it is printed. By year two its numbers are estimates. By year four, boards routinely find the projected costs were nowhere near the actual bids. Re-commissioning a study every year is not economically possible for most buildings, so an annual-review law effectively requires a study that stays current: costs that update, and a funding plan that reflects what the building actually spent.

How do boards and managers get ahead of it?

REcollab generates your reserve study from documents your building already has, in about an hour, reviewed by a licensed engineer. It costs roughly 40% less than a traditional study, and it stays current, so the annual review takes an evening instead of a re-engagement. See how it works on the core product page.

For property managers this is a portfolio decision. When a mandate lands, every association you manage needs a compliant study within a year. The managers who move early will be the only ones in the city already done.

One 11-unit condo caught a $132,000 funding gap years ahead and planned for it calmly instead of assessing owners for it.

Send us one building's documents and see your first study this week. For a summary of what applies today, see the New York requirements at a glance.

Frequently asked questions

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Sources: Assembly Bill A8945, New York State Senate, NJ DCA Structural Integrity Law FAQ, Habitat Magazine, Foundation for Community Association Research.

REcollab turns the legally required reserve study into a live 30-year capital plan. Built by two civil engineers.