New York Fire Damage Property Laws: Disclosure, Claims & Transfer Rules

The Disclosure Rule That Changed In 2024

If you have sold residential property in this state before, or taken advice from someone who has, there is a strong chance the advice is out of date. The Property Condition Disclosure Act changed on 20 March 2024 and it removed the option that nearly every downstate seller used.

Under Real Property Law section 462, a seller of residential property must complete and sign a Property Condition Disclosure Statement and deliver it before the buyer signs a binding contract. Both parties sign it and it is attached to the contract. For years, section 465 gave sellers an alternative: hand the buyer a $500 credit at closing instead. That became the default across New York City, to the point that almost no downstate seller ever produced the statement.

Can I Still Give a $500 Credit Instead of the Disclosure Statement?

No. Legislation signed in September 2023 took effect on 20 March 2024 and deleted that option entirely. Section 465 was retitled from "Remedy" to "Liability" and now provides that nothing in the article limits any existing cause of action or remedy at law or in equity. The statement is no longer avoidable.

The same amendment added questions about flood risk: whether the property sits in a FEMA-designated 100-year or 500-year floodplain, whether federal flood insurance requirements apply, and whether the seller has made flood claims or received FEMA or Small Business Administration disaster assistance. For a fire-damaged property in a coastal borough, those questions are live.

Two limits are worth knowing. Section 462 does not require a seller to undertake any investigation or inspection, or to check public records — the duty attaches to what you know. And a knowingly false or incomplete statement can expose the seller to claims by the buyer before or after title transfers.

Who Controls the Insurance Money, and the Clock They Are On

The deadlines binding an insurer here sit in Regulation 64, at Part 216 of Title 11 of the state's codes and regulations, alongside section 2601 of the Insurance Law.

How Long Does an Insurer Have on a Fire Claim?

Fifteen business days to acknowledge notice of the claim, and fifteen business days to reply to any other communication about it. The insurer must commence an investigation within fifteen business days of notice, and tell you what items, statements and forms it will require within that same period.

The decision deadline runs from your proof of loss. Within fifteen business days of receiving a properly executed proof of loss and everything else it asked for, the insurer must advise whether the claim is accepted or rejected. If it needs longer, it must say so in writing within that same fifteen days and give the reasons — and then send a further letter every ninety days for as long as the claim stays unsettled.

Now the provision that matters specifically to fire, and that almost nobody tells policyholders about.

Does My Insurer Get Longer If They Suspect Arson?

Yes. Where an insurer suspects the claim involves arson, the fifteen business days to accept or reject becomes thirty business days under section 2601 of the Insurance Law. Suspicion alone triggers it. Nobody has to accuse you of anything, and you may never be told that this is the reason your file has slowed.

That single provision explains a great deal of otherwise inexplicable delay on fire claims here. It is not a reason to panic and it is certainly not an accusation, but if your claim has stretched without explanation, it is worth asking your carrier directly whether the file has been referred, and asking in writing.

Two further protections apply. Where a claim is rejected, the insurer must notify you in writing of any policy provision limiting your right to sue. And where one or more elements of a claim are not in dispute, payment on those elements must be made even while other elements remain disputed — you should not be held to zero because part of the claim is contested.

What the Transfer Taxes Take

The state charges a Real Estate Transfer Tax of $2 per $500 of consideration, which is 0.4%, and it applies to every transfer in the state. It is customarily the seller's, and it is reported on the state combined transfer tax return.

Localities layer on top of that, and how much varies enormously across the state. New York City imposes its own Real Property Transfer Tax at rates set out on the city page. Elsewhere the position differs county by county, and several counties add transfer taxes at rates unrelated to the city's.

There is also a buyer-paid additional state tax on residential transfers of $1 million or more, applied to the entire consideration rather than the excess. It is not the seller's obligation, but it shapes what a buyer will pay near the threshold, which makes it the seller's problem in a different way.

Your Four Exits, Compared

Repair and list. Highest gross, and here the hardest to fund, because a vacate order means engineer-led work with no rent coming in.

Sell as it stands. Lower gross, transfers the engineering, permitting and carrying risk. Whether it nets more depends on how accurately you can estimate what lifting a vacate order will cost.

Demolish and sell the lot. Rarely straightforward here, because full demolition carries asbestos filings, utility disconnections, protection plans and adjacent-owner notification. On an attached building it is harder still.

List on the open market as-is. Reaches retail buyers, but a lender will not finance a structure under a vacate order, which narrows the pool to cash. Disclosure obligations are identical either way.

How the Answer Varies Across New York

State law is uniform. Everything administering it is local, and this state is not one market. Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Utica, Schenectady, Binghamton and Yonkers each run their own building departments under the same state statutes, with their own permitting and their own transfer tax positions. Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester and Erie counties each record deeds separately, and upstate housing stock is overwhelmingly detached frame construction rather than the attached masonry that dominates the city.

Inside the five boroughs, vacate orders, demolition filings and the city transfer tax are covered on our page for property inside the five boroughs. The boroughs themselves differ sharply: Brooklyn's attached row house stock is set out on a borough of attached masonry, Queens covers the widest mix of building types in the city, and the Bronx carries dense multi-family stock with tenancy questions attached. Staten Island is the exception on several counts, including where its deeds are recorded, covered under a borough of detached houses, while Manhattan property runs to buildings where the fire is rarely the whole problem. Just over the line, a Westchester city with its own department operates under an entirely separate authority.

The full index is on our service area index.

State-Scope Questions

Does an As-Is Sale Remove My Disclosure Duty?

No. The Property Condition Disclosure Statement is required on residential sales regardless of how the sale is characterised, and since March 2024 there is no credit you can substitute for it.

Do I Have to Inspect the Property Before Completing the Statement?

No. Section 462 does not require a seller to investigate, inspect, or check public records. The duty attaches to what you actually know.

My Fire Claim Has Gone Quiet. What Are They Required to Do?

Acknowledge within fifteen business days, commence investigating within fifteen business days of notice, and accept or reject within fifteen business days of a properly executed proof of loss — thirty business days where arson is suspected. Any extension must be explained in writing.

Primary Sources

New York Real Property Law Article 14, §§462, 465 and 466 — Property Condition Disclosure Act as amended effective 20 March 2024
11 NYCRR Part 216 — Regulation 64, sections 216.4, 216.5 and 216.6
New York Insurance Law §2601 — unfair claim settlement practices and the arson provision
New York Tax Law §1402 — state Real Estate Transfer Tax
New York State Department of Financial Services — consumer complaint and adjuster licence lookups