With the passage, in 2023 (to take effect this Wednesday, March 20, 2024) of an amendment to Article 14 of the NYS Real Property Law, more commonly known as the Property Condition Disclosure Act (herein as PCDA or the “ACT”) the Legislature is once again attempting to meddle in how residential real estate transactions are handled. Only this time it (the Legislature) has succeeded. Caveat Emptor no more? Let the Seller Beware!

Revisiting the passage and implementation of the PCDA (signed into law in November 2001 effective March 1, 2002), the legislative memorandum in support illustrates the specific purpose of the statute.

The legislation was enacted on the basis of finding that residential real estate consumers, both buyers and sellers would benefit from a mechanism intended to increase their ability to obtain information concerning a home purchase and sale ….[and that a] uniform document that regularizes disclosure can supplement information provided by professional inspections and tests to provide sellers and buyers with a better basis for negotiating a purchase and sales agreement.