The city’s tax records list 1,009 co-op lots in Queens, averaging 118 apartments each, and 1,912 in Brooklyn, averaging 43. A co-op inspection in Queens and Brooklyn covers one of those apartments and whatever can be seen of the building from inside it. It does not cover the roof, the boiler or the facade, and because a co-op buyer owns shares in the corporation that owns the building, those parts are part of what you are buying.
Our office is in South Ozone Park, Queens, and we inspect as New York State-licensed, InterNACHI-certified home inspectors at Inspecwise. This guide is written for buyers. It explains what a visit to the apartment can tell you, which building papers fill the gap and which questions belong to your attorney, and it is not legal or financial advice.
Queens and Brooklyn co-ops in numbers
Co-ops look different in the two boroughs. Every New York tax lot carries a building class from the Department of Finance. C6 marks a walk-up cooperative and D4 an elevator cooperative, and C8 and D0 mark co-ops made from lofts or warehouses (Department of Finance building classes). Counting those four classes in the city’s tax-lot file (PLUTO 26v2) gives the table.
| Queens | Brooklyn | |
|---|---|---|
| Co-op tax lots (walk-up and elevator classes) | 1,009 | 1,912 |
| Apartments on those lots | 119,240 | 83,122 |
| Share of all residential units in the borough | about 13% | about 7% |
| Walk-up co-op lots, and average apartments per lot | 317, about 75 | 1,267, about 11 |
| Elevator co-op lots, and average apartments per lot | 692, about 138 | 645, about 107 |
| Elevator co-op lots recorded with more than six floors | 121 (about 17% of elevator lots) | 134 (about 21% of elevator lots) |
| Share of homes in five-plus-unit buildings, all ownership types (Census) | about 42% | about 55% |
Most co-op apartments in both boroughs sit on elevator lots, about 80% in Queens and 83% in Brooklyn. Brooklyn adds a long tail of small buildings: 1,267 walk-up lots averaging about 11 apartments each. Queens has fewer lots and larger ones, with elevator lots averaging about 138 apartments. A class code is a tax label and not a legal count, so some co-ops may carry another code. The Census Bureau’s tables do not separate co-ops and condominiums from rentals, which is why the last row covers all ownership types. Citywide, the Housing and Vacancy Survey reports a homeownership rate of 62 percent in co-ops, so a large minority of co-op apartments are occupied by someone other than the shareholder (NYC HPD, 2023 survey findings).
What you own, and where a co-op inspection in Queens and Brooklyn stops
The Attorney General’s office puts the form of ownership briefly. A co-op buyer buys shares in a corporation, the shares are allocated to one apartment, and they carry a long-term proprietary lease on it (Attorney General). Maintenance charges follow the number of shares. The Attorney General’s brochure describes each owner as both a shareholder in the corporation and its tenant, with a board elected by the shareholders (Attorney General brochure). Fannie Mae’s co-op appraisal rules agree from the lender’s side: the corporation holds title, and occupancy rights pass to apartments through proprietary leases (Selling Guide B4-1.4-04).
Under the State’s Standards an inspection is visual and limited to what is readily accessible, and any major component the inspector did not observe goes in the report with the reason (19 NYCRR 197-5.3). Inside an apartment that becomes a list of tasks. The table shows what the visit reaches and where the answer for the rest has to come from.
| Part of the property | Reached from your apartment? | Where the full answer is |
|---|---|---|
| Walls, ceilings and floors in the unit | Yes. The inspector reports their material and general condition (197-5.12). | The inspection report. |
| Kitchen and bath fixtures and visible piping | Yes, the readily accessible interior supply and drain components (197-5.8). | The inspection report. Risers inside walls are not visible. |
| Electrical panel, receptacles, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors | Yes, including the inside of the panel when its cover comes off readily (197-5.9). Presence of detectors is reported, not proof they work. | The inspection report. |
| Heat in the unit (radiators, valves, thermostat) | Yes, what is in the unit. | The central boiler and risers belong to the building. |
| Stains on ceilings and exterior walls | Yes, as visible signs of water penetration. The inspector is not required to determine causes (197-5.16). | Board minutes, the managing agent, the building’s engineer. |
| Roof, facade, boiler room, risers, lobby and halls | Only where the building gives access and the part is readily accessible. Otherwise they are listed as not observed, with the reason. | Offering plan, minutes, financial statements, facade filings. |
| Elevators | Not required of the inspector (197-5.12(b)). | The building’s inspection records. |
For condominiums the Standards say outright that the inspector need not inspect common components or evaluate reserve accounts (197-5.16(f)). The rule names condominiums and not co-ops, but in a co-op the result is much the same, because the parts you cannot readily reach from the apartment go into the report as not observed. Our guide to condo inspections vs home inspections compares the two forms of ownership, and our Manhattan co-op and condo page covers the same questions for that borough.
Does the State license reach an apartment?
The licensing statute’s definition of a residential building stops at four dwelling units (Real Property Law 444-b). It is silent on a unit inside a larger building, and we found no Department of State statement on the point, so we claim no answer either way. Call with the building’s address and we will say how we would plan the visit.
No disclosure statement from a co-op seller
Sellers of houses owe buyers a state disclosure form ahead of the contract. The act’s definition of residential real property excludes condominium units and cooperative apartments (Real Property Law 461), so a co-op seller owes you no such form. The building papers below are how you ask the same questions. See our guide to the disclosure statement for what house buyers get.
The papers that describe the building
A co-op inspection in Queens and Brooklyn reaches only the apartment, so the papers carry the rest. According to the Attorney General’s buyer guide, a unit is sold under an offering plan, and the plan should be read in full, with an attorney, before you sign a purchase agreement (Attorney General guide). It also names other sources. The table collects them.
| Document | What the Attorney General says it can show |
|---|---|
| Offering plan | The terms of sale. For a converted building the sponsor had to have an engineer evaluate it, and the plan lists the defects that engineer could see. |
| Board minutes from the previous year | A year of minutes is likely to describe the building’s defects. |
| Most recent financial report | The footnotes to the report may list defects and repair cost estimates, actual or potential. |
| Violations and building department records | Check the report for posted violations or ask the local building department for a current list of defects. See how to check the certificate of occupancy and permits. |
| By-laws and proprietary lease | The brochure says the original copies are in the offering plan, which may not be current, and that the board or managing agent may supply updated documents. |
The first row has a catch on a resale: the Attorney General cautions that the plan may be out of date on the building’s condition or may not exist, and that a sale by an individual owner is outside the Attorney General’s regulation, so no plan is required. Then you depend on the minutes, the financials and the public records. Your attorney can request them, and we do not advise on what a board will release.
Read them for money as well as repairs. Facade work tops the Attorney General’s list of costly problems in existing buildings, followed by pointing, roof and elevator repairs, with plumbing, electrical and boiler upgrades next. A buyer “should not be deterred by a need for some repairs” but should know how much the large ones are likely to cost.
Local Law 11: which Queens and Brooklyn co-ops it reaches
The city’s facade program applies to “owners of properties higher than six stories,” who must have exterior walls inspected and file a technical report. Only a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector, who must be a New York State licensed professional engineer or registered architect approved by the Department of Buildings, may do the examination (DOB facade page). The inspector classifies the wall Safe, SWARMP (“safe at the time of inspection, but requires repairs or maintenance during the next five years, but not less than one year”) or Unsafe, and owners must repair unsafe conditions within 90 days of filing the report. For a co-op, the owner is the corporation, so the cost is the corporation’s and shareholders pay it through maintenance or assessments. We are home inspectors, not engineers, and we do not perform or file facade examinations.
Most co-ops in these boroughs are not covered, because most are not that tall. By the tax record’s floor count, 121 of Queens’ 692 elevator co-op lots and 134 of Brooklyn’s 645 have more than six floors, and those taller lots hold about 26% and 36% of the two boroughs’ co-op apartments. Every walk-up co-op lot with a recorded floor count is at six floors or fewer. A floor count in a tax file is not DOB’s height test, and DOB says it is “ultimately the building owner’s responsibility to correctly identify” whether the building is subject to the program, so ask the board.
| Buildings with a facade filing record in Cycle 9 (the cycle before the current Cycle 10) | Queens | Brooklyn |
|---|---|---|
| Buildings with a record | 2,149 | 2,552 |
| Current status: Safe | 861 | 945 |
| Current status: SWARMP | 840 | 835 |
| Current status: Unsafe | 129 | 311 |
| No report filed | 323 | 464 |
The table is from DOB’s open dataset of facade filings (DOB NOW: Safety, Facades Compliance Filings), read on October 26, 2026. It covers every building over six stories on DOB’s list, whatever the ownership, so it is not a co-op count, and a few buildings appear under more than one status. Use the dataset to look up your building by address, then ask the board for the latest report and the repair schedule. One timing note: under Local Law 49 of 2025, effective October 1, 2026, DOB may set the interval between examinations by rule at 6 to 12 years (Local Law 49 of 2025). DOB’s page, as we could read it, still describes a five-year cycle, so ask which window your building is in.
The underlying mortgage, assessments, taxes and flip tax
A co-op can have a mortgage of its own, usually called the underlying or blanket mortgage. Fannie Mae’s rules for lending on a co-op unit show what a lender wants to know: the lienholder and the amount and repayment terms of all project blanket financing, the unit’s pro rata share of the blanket mortgage payments, monthly maintenance and monthly special assessments, and any tax abatements and when they end (Selling Guide B4-1.4-04). Use that list as your own. The Attorney General’s brochure shows why it matters: a bank threatening to foreclose on an underlying mortgage, or a sponsor failing to pay maintenance on unsold shares, are the serious problems a board has to address quickly (Attorney General brochure).
The City’s property records system, ACRIS, holds recorded mortgages, deeds and regulatory agreements, according to HPD (HPD). Your attorney should pull what is recorded against the building.
HDFC co-ops
HPD counts over 1,100 HDFC co-ops in the city. They benefit from reduced real estate taxes in exchange for income and resale restrictions, and HPD says sales of apartments in many HDFC co-ops are subject to a flip tax, with the amount set by the co-op’s governing documents (HPD HDFC page). If the building is an HDFC, HPD says buyers must meet the requirements in the law, any document the co-op signed with a government agency and the co-op’s governing documents, so read all three. For a market-rate co-op, ask the seller’s attorney whether the building charges any fee on sale and who pays it. HPD’s page is about HDFCs, so we cannot say what other buildings do.
A worked example: a ceiling stain in a top-floor apartment
This is an example, not a case we handled. A buyer is under contract on a top-floor apartment in a 1950s six-story elevator co-op in Queens. The inspection finds a stain and bubbled paint on a bedroom ceiling below the roof. The report records a visible sign of water penetration at that spot. It does not say the roof is the cause, because the Standards do not require the inspector to determine causes, and it lists the roof as not observed.
The buyer then has work to do with an attorney. Do the minutes mention roof leaks or a roofing contract? Do the financial statement footnotes mention the cost of a roof? Has the board announced an assessment? Is there an engineer’s report on the roof or a capital plan? What does the underlying mortgage require of the building? Because the building is six stories, Local Law 11 does not apply, so there is no facade report to read. The stain has turned one inspection finding into a short list of document requests, which is how the visit and the building papers fit together.
Questions to ask before you pay for a co-op inspection
- What does the offering plan say about the building’s condition, and is it current? If this is a resale, is there a plan at all?
- Can I see the board minutes from the past year and the latest financial statements, with the accountant’s notes?
- What repairs has the building done or planned for the roof, facade, boiler, plumbing risers and elevators, and how will they be paid for?
- Is there a special assessment in place or planned? Does anyone owe maintenance, including a sponsor on unsold shares?
- What is the underlying mortgage: lender, balance, rate, term and any balloon payment?
- Is the building taller than six stories? If so, what is its latest facade report rating and repair schedule?
- Does the building charge a fee on sale? Is it an HDFC?
- What are the building’s rules on alterations, sublets and visitors, including the inspection visit?
Short answers to common questions
What does a co-op buyer actually own?
Shares in the corporation that owns the building, allocated to your apartment, plus a long-term proprietary lease on it. The Attorney General describes an owner as both a shareholder in the corporation and its tenant.
Which building records can a co-op buyer ask to see?
The Attorney General names the offering plan, the past year’s board minutes and the most recent financial report with its footnotes, plus violation records from the building department. On a resale the plan may be missing or out of date, so your attorney should ask for the others.
Does Local Law 11 apply to my small walk-up co-op in Brooklyn?
Not if the building is six stories or lower. DOB’s facade program covers owners of properties higher than six stories. The tax record shows every Brooklyn walk-up co-op lot with a recorded floor count at six floors or fewer, but the board can confirm the building’s height.
What is an underlying mortgage and why does it matter?
It is the mortgage the co-op corporation itself owes, also called the blanket mortgage. Each shareholder pays a share of it through maintenance, and lenders on co-op units ask for its lienholder, amount and repayment terms. The Attorney General lists a bank threatening to foreclose on it among the serious problems a board must address quickly.
Does a co-op seller have to give me the state disclosure form?
No. New York’s disclosure act excludes condominium units and cooperative apartments from the term residential real property. Use the building papers and your attorney instead.
What is an HDFC co-op?
A limited-equity co-op organized under Article XI of the Private Housing Finance Law and supervised by HPD, with income and resale restrictions in return for reduced real estate taxes. Over 1,100 exist in the city.
Do I need a structural engineer for a co-op apartment?
Only if a finding calls for one. The Attorney General says the physical condition of a co-op purchase can be difficult and technical and that you may wish to rely on an engineer and attorney. See our guide to home inspector vs structural engineer.
About the figures
Co-op counts are from NYC Department of City Planning PLUTO 26v2 (PLUTO dataset), building classes C6, C8, D0 and D4, queried October 26, 2026. Facade filing counts are from DOB’s open dataset of the same date. Census figures are American Community Survey five-year estimates for 2020 to 2024 (ACS), rounded because survey estimates carry margins of error.
Before you book a co-op inspection in Queens and Brooklyn
Send us the building’s address and say whether the apartment is a co-op or a condo. If you already hold the offering plan, the minutes or the financial statements, say so. We will describe what we would look at inside the unit and which questions go to your attorney and the managing agent. We work in English, Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi and inspect across the five boroughs, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester. For the boroughs themselves, see our pages on home inspection in Queens and home inspection in Brooklyn. If a lender is involved, read whether a mortgage requires a home inspection.
To talk it through, call 718-925-7071.