USA – NEW YORK Law and Practice Contributed by: Lindsey Haubenreich, Joseph Heins, Timothy Moriarty, Kimberly Nason and Matthew Fitzgerald, Phillips Lytle LLP
through the 2026 legislative or budget process, and could take effect later in 2026. Another major proposal is Governor Hochul’s March 2026 plan to amend New York’s 2019 Climate Act by preserving the long-term 2050 decarbonisation goals while relaxing or eliminating the statute’s near-term 2030 mandates. If adopted, that reform could mate - rially affect real estate development, particularly for owners, developers and utilities concerned about electrification costs, grid capacity and the econom - ics of new construction. At present, however, its path is uncertain because it requires legislative approval and has already drawn resistance from many Senate Democrats. Accordingly, while the proposal is signifi - cant, it appears less likely than permitting reform to be enacted quickly, and any action would most likely occur, if at all, during the 2026 legislative session. The most prevalent forms of ownership are individ - ual and joint ownership through legal entities, such as limited liability companies, limited partnerships, corporations or trusts. Currently, these legal entities remain the primary owners of commercial real estate, especially limited liability companies due to their flex - ibility with tax treatment and structuring the company. Typically, investors in commercial real estate take title through an entity, or series of entities, owned and con - trolled by the individual owners. Residential real estate owned by more than one per - son may take title as tenants-in-common, joint ten - ancy with the right of survivorship, or tenancy by the entirety for married couples. 2.2 Laws Applicable to Transfer of Title Generally, parties are able to buy and sell real estate without complying with any jurisdictional require - ments. Only certain types of parties or real property are subjected to state or local regulation – eg, certain charitable corporations must obtain the permission of the Supreme Court of the State of New York or the New York State Attorney General before transferring real property. 2. Sale and Purchase 2.1 Categories of Property Rights
Similarly, a party seeking to purchase a residential home that is in default on a mortgage loan must comply with the New York State Home Equity Theft Prevention Act. Properties that are suffering from envi - ronmental contamination may require the selling party to notify the New York State Department of Environ - mental Conservation or subsequent parties in title of the existence of the contamination or any restrictions placed upon the real property. 2.3 Effecting Lawful and Proper Transfer of Title Transfer of title is effectuated by the delivery and acceptance of a deed, in recordable form, to the sub - ject real property. To be in recordable form, a deed must be signed, be acknowledged by a notary, and contain an adequate description of the property. While delivery and acceptance of a deed is sufficient to transfer title to real property, the deed must be recorded in the county clerk’s office, and the appli - cable taxes and fees must be paid in order to perfect the transfer. This final step is important because New York State is a “race-notice” jurisdiction. This means a party can simultaneously issue two deeds to two separate par - ties for the same real property. The party that wins the “race” to the applicable county clerk’s office and has their deed recorded first will be the owner of the real property, provided that such party had no knowledge of the other deed. 2.4 Real Estate Due Diligence Depending on the complexity of the acquisition, pur - chasers of real estate typically engage third parties, such as: • attorneys;
• institutional lenders; • real estate brokers;
• appraisers; • engineers; • surveyors; • architects; • general contractors; • title insurance/search companies; • accountants; • insurance agents;
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