N.Y. RPA Law § 1981
This is the official text of N.Y. RPA Law § 1981, part of New York’s RPA Law — part of the compiled statutory law of New York, published by the state as "RPA Law." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Certification of abandonment
Official statutory text
* § 1981. Certification of abandonment. 1. The department may make a\nfinding that a commercial or industrial real property is abandoned if:\n (a) The owner of a commercial or industrial real property has failed\nfor a period of at least three consecutive months either to collect rent\nor to institute summary proceedings for nonpayment of rent, and the\ndepartment finds that the commercial or industrial real property has\nbecome a danger to life, health or safety as a result of the owner's\nfailure to assume its responsibility for its condition. Such failure may\nbe shown by such facts as an owner's failure to provide services\nincluding, but not limited to, the failure to make repairs, supply\njanitorial service, purchase fuel or other needed supplies, or pay\nutility bills. The appointment of an administrator shall not prevent the\ndepartment from making a finding that a commercial or industrial real\nproperty is abandoned; or\n (b) In the case of a vacant commercial or industrial real property, it\nis not sealed or continuously guarded as required by law or it was\nsealed or is continuously guarded by a person other than the owner, a\nmortgagee, lienor or agent thereof, and either of the following facts\nexists:\n (i) A vacate order of the department or other governmental agency\ncurrently prohibits occupancy of the commercial or industrial real\nproperty; or\n (ii) The tax on such premises has been due and unpaid for a period of\nat least one year; or\n (iii) The property has had a zoning, building or property maintenance\ncode violation that has the potential to injure or endanger the health\nand safety of others or to unreasonably annoy others and that has been\ncontinuously outstanding and not remediated for a period of at least one\nyear from the date the original order to correct or notice of violation\nwas served upon the property owner pursuant to subdivision four of\nsection three hundred eight of the civil practice law and rules if the\nowner is a natural person, or pursuant to section three hundred ten,\nthree hundred ten-a, three hundred eleven or three hundred eleven-a of\nthe civil practice law and rules if the owner is a partnership, limited\npartnership, corporation or limited liability company, respectively; or\n (c) In the case of a building for which an administrator has been\nappointed:\n (i) no motion for the termination of the judgment has been granted by\nthe appointing court;\n (ii) no mortgagee or lienor has commenced foreclosure proceedings; and\n (iii) at least six months have passed since the granting of a judgment\nappointing an administrator.\n 2. When the department finds that a commercial or industrial real\nproperty is abandoned within the meaning of this article, it shall make\nand file among its records a certification containing such finding and\nthe facts on which it is based. Further, it shall immediately affix to\nthe commercial or industrial real property in a prominent and\nconspicuous location, a notice that the real property has been found to\nbe abandoned and that it is a crime to take, remove or otherwise damage\nany fixture or part of the property or any building or structure located\nthereon.\n * NB Repealed June 30, 2028\n
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in New York?
Find a New York lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.