New York Condominium Boards Lack Authority to Mandate Replacement of In-Unit Windows
Board of Meadow Court Condominium instituted a policy requiring all unit owners to replace their in-unit windows, even though the condo declaration deemed the window part of the individual unit. The Supreme Court awarded summary judgment to the unit owner, declaring the contract between the condominium and the window contractor void. On appeal, the Appellate Division held that the business judgment rule did not shield the board’s policy from judicial review.1 A condominium board may not amend its bylaws in ways that conflict with the condo declaration, and even absent a direct conflict, a bylaw amendment is invalid if it prohibits conduct implicitly permitted by the declaration.2
Photo Credit: The exterior of 64 University Place will feature hand-laid red brick, arched windows, and flowing ivy. Eleven Visualizations.Jennifer Epstein, “Manhattan Condo Aims to Sell Out Before Listing a Single Unit.” Bloomberg (October 13, 2022), accessed June 3, 2025, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-13/manhattan-condo-aims-to-sell-out-before-listing-a-single-unit?embedded-checkout=true
1 Mangold v Bd. of Mgrs. of Meadow Ct. Condominium, 236 AD3d 406 [1st Dept 2025]
2 Strathmore Ridge Homeowners Assn., Inc. v Mendicino, 63 AD3d 1038 [2d Dept 2009]
Tags: board, business judgment rule, bylaws, condo declaration, condominium, New York, summary judgment, windows