How Much Should You Pay in Common Charges?

Condo Book Research · Updated Sep 29, 2026 · 4 min read

There's no single right number for condo common charges, but there are benchmarks. These come from the projected first-year budgets in recent NYC condo offering plans: per-unit averages by borough and building size, what drives the cost, and how to tell a realistic budget from an optimistic one.

Common charges are whatever the building's budget costs, divided among the units. There's no "right" number, but there are benchmarks. These come from the projected first-year budgets (Schedule B) in the 518 NYC condo offering plans accepted since Oct 13, 2021 with a full budget and no commercial units.

Average Condo Common Charges in NYC: The Benchmarks

Average first-year common charges per residential unit, per month:

These are per-unit averages; building sizes with fewer than five plans are left out. Your actual charge is your unit's common interest percentage (set in Schedule A of the plan) times the total budget. A penthouse in a small building might carry several times the share of a ground-floor one-bedroom.

For per-square-foot figures and the most recent plans one by one, see the NYC condo common charges data page.

What Drives Common Charges

Three things explain most of the difference between a low and a high monthly charge:

1. Staff. Where a budget has payroll and cleaning, they take an average 20% of it, and a doorman building's payroll is far larger. No-staff walk-ups are cheap to run.
2. Elevator. Adds maintenance contracts, inspections, and insurance. Budgets with an elevator line spend an average of 8% on it.
3. Building size. Insurance, accounting, and a minimum management fee are roughly fixed. In a four-unit building each owner pays a quarter of them; in a twelve-unit building, a twelfth. In recent plans, 7–12 unit buildings have the lowest average, $520 a month.

Amenities (gym, roof deck, pool) add on top of all three. For the full line-by-line breakdown, see what a new NYC condo spends in its first year.

Are Low Common Charges a Good Sign?

Not necessarily. First-year budgets are prepared by the sponsor, who wants the units to sell. Warning signs that charges are set too low:

• Sponsor manages for free. In 25% of these plans the sponsor is the first managing agent, and 95 of those 122 record no fee. The real cost (the average management line in these budgets is about $19,800 a year) shows up once the board hires a manager. See who manages NYC condos in the managing agents directory.
• Thin or no reserve. Look at the reserve fund and working capital fund in Part I. A building that starts with a few thousand dollars in reserve will assess owners for the first big repair.
• Insurance well below the norm in a small building. Insurance is an average 17% of these budgets, and renewal quotes often come in above the one used at filing.
• Water and sewer well below the norm (an average 15%). DEP rates rise almost every year.

A sponsor who budgets honestly produces a higher number that stays put. A sponsor who budgets optimistically produces a lower number that jumps once the board takes over.

Condo Common Charges vs. Co-op Maintenance

Condo common charges don't include real estate taxes; each owner is billed directly by the city. Co-op maintenance includes the building's taxes and any underlying mortgage. So a condo's common charge can look far lower than a co-op's maintenance for the same total cost of ownership. Compare condo charges plus taxes to co-op maintenance, not one to the other.

How to Check a Building's Common Charges

1. Find the offering plan and open Schedule B. (New to offering plans? Start with what a condo offering plan is.)
2. Divide total expenses by residential units for a per-unit figure; compare to the table above.
3. Read the footnotes on insurance, management, and reserves.
4. Check the current budget if the building is more than a year old. The first amendment or the board's financials will show what actually happened. See how to find offering plan amendments.

Compare Real Budgets

The Condo Book Project has Schedule B parsed for over 1,700 NYC condo plans. Search The Condo Book Project by neighborhood, building size, or a question like "6-unit condos in Brooklyn with common charges under $500".

Common Questions

What are average condo common charges in NYC?

In NYC condo offering plans accepted since Oct 13, 2021, the average first-year budget works out to about $740 per residential unit per month. By borough: Brooklyn $570, Manhattan $2,110, Queens $480.

Do NYC condo common charges include real estate taxes?

No. Each condo owner is billed real estate taxes directly by the city. Co-op maintenance, by contrast, includes the building's taxes and any underlying mortgage.

Why do common charges go up after the first year?

The first-year budget is the sponsor's projection. Free sponsor management, thin reserves and insurance or water costs budgeted at old rates can all push charges up once the board takes over.

How is my unit's share of common charges set?

By its common interest percentage, listed in Schedule A of the offering plan. Your monthly charge is that percentage times the building's total budget.

Figures are averages from the 518 New York City condominium offering plans accepted since Oct 13, 2021 with a reconciled Schedule B, a single budget and a Schedule A unit list, the same plans as the common charges data page. The homes' share of first-year expenses divided by the number of homes. Sponsor projections, not actual charges; updated as of Oct 13, 2026.