Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Brown struck down Nassau County’s $355 fee to verify a property’s section, block and lot due to it being unlawful and unconstitutional.

In Falk v. Nassau County, the Plaintiff alleged that Nassau County excessive fees for tax map certification letters (TMCLs) as issued pursuant to Nassau County Administrative Code § 6-33.0. These TMCLs are issued by the Nassau County Department of Assessments and must be filed with real property documents when submitted to the Nassau County Clerk for recording. Plaintiff alleged that the fees are excessive and not reasonably necessary to maintain the County’s real property registry and such fees are taxes as their purpose really is for general revenue. In this regard, the Plaintiff sought a declaratory judgment deeming Administrative Code § 6-33.0 unconstitutional because it is excessive and an unlawful tax.

Among other reasons, the court granted the Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and found the TMCL fees unconstitutional as it was established that its purpose was for general revenue purposes only and that the fee itself is “indisputably disproportionate to the cost associated with its issuance.” Further, the Court found that they are excessive and not tied to the County’s responsibility in maintaining its property registry nor were such fees assessed or estimated on the basis of studies or statistics.

Nassau County is expected to file an appeal to Judge Brown’s decision. Stay tuned.

Effective 5:00 pm on March 16, 2020, no eviction orders shall be signed and no foreclosure auctions shall be held in all Nassau and Suffolk Courts. The hold is in effect until rescinded and it is in accordance with the protocol put into place by the Chief Administrative Judge of New York State Courts due to COVID-19.

You can see the Nassau County Administrative Order here and the Suffolk County Administrative Order here.

On March 31, 2019, Governor Cuomo signed the New York State Budget for the 2020 Fiscal Year. Notable changes include increased real estate transfer tax rates and mansion taxes for properties in New York City and other cities with a population of over 1 million.

The new transfer tax and mansion tax rates apply only to property transfers in New York City (and other +1MM cities) after July 1, 2019, except for transfers with contracts signed on or before April 1, 2019 provided that the “date of execution of the contract is confirmed by independent evidence, such as the recording of the contract, payment of a deposit or other facts and circumstances determined by the commissioner of taxation and finance.” Transfer tax rates for counties outside New York counties remain the same.