For many years now,1 the City of New York has required that each year owners of “income-producing property” (as more particularly described below) file a statement of income and expenses (known as the RPIE statement).2 The purpose of the imposition of the filing requirement was to assist the Department of Finance in establishing a more accurate method for determining the assessed value of real property.3 The imposition of such a disclosure and filing requirement has been held to be constitutional.4
Significant penalties may be imposed against a property owner who fails to timely file the required RPIE statement. If the penalties are not paid, the outstanding amounts will eventually work their way onto the real property tax bills, becoming a lien upon the property. This could result in a substantial injustice to a property owner who has purchased the property without any notice of a former owner’s failure to file the RPIE statement. This article will explore the filing requirement of the RPIE statement, the enforcement procedures followed by the New York City Department of Finance, and their effect upon purchasers of “income-producing property” in the city.
