THE CONDO BOOK PROJECT

What Offering Plans Say About Replacing Your Condo Windows

Updated · 8 min read

Windows sit on the line between your apartment and the building. We read NYC condo offering plans to see who pays when a window breaks or wears out, who gets to choose the replacement, and when the city has a say.

You'd think the windows in your apartment are yours. In a New York City condo, the answer depends on the building's declaration and by-laws, the legal documents that come bundled in the offering plan (the disclosure book the developer files with the state Attorney General). Some buildings make the windows part of your unit. Others call them common elements, meaning the condo owns them, even though you pay for their upkeep.

We read the 2,182 NYC condo offering plans we have in full text and pulled out what they say about windows. Here's what that means for you as a buyer.

The Short Answer

In most plans, you pay to fix or replace your own windows, but the board decides what the new ones look like. 275 plans spell out who pays for broken glass, and 214 require the board to approve the replacement window or its style. The building, through common charges, usually pays to clean the outside of the glass and to maintain the facade.

Are the Windows Part of Your Unit?

A condo declaration draws a boundary around each apartment. Everything outside it is a common element, owned by all owners together. A limited common element is a piece of the common elements that only one apartment uses, like a private terrace. Some plans put the windows in that category. A converted Brooklyn building says:

“Notwithstanding the above, the foregoing excludes all windows and window frames of the Residential Units (which are considered Limited Common Elements)”

Spencer Street Condominium, plan CD180448, PDF page 288

We found at least 30 plans that use language like this. Many more simply list windows among the things the owner repairs. The label matters less than the repair clause. Even where windows are limited common elements, the owner usually still pays for them.

Who Pays When a Window Breaks or Wears Out

The most common clause puts window repairs, and broken glass, on you. A Brooklyn new-construction plan reads:

“repairs and replacements to the Units including windows (including all glass breakage), doors, windows and doors which open from a Unit (except painting and maintenance of the exterior surface which is performed by the Board of Managers) … shall be made by the respective Unit Owners at their own expense.”

457 Prospect Place Condominium, plan CD060260, PDF page 135

Some buildings also choose who does the work. You still get the bill:

“Any repair or replacement in any Residential Unit of glass windows, of any window’s operating machinery, or any mechanical parts associated therewith, must be performed solely by a professional company engaged by the Condominium Board, the cost and expense of which shall be borne by the individual Residential Unit Owner”

168 Plymouth Street Condominium, plan CD180414, PDF page 20

Big windows can mean a crane bill. Floor-to-ceiling glass may not fit in the elevator. One converted Greenwich Village building warns that the owner pays for:

“the expense of an exterior hoist if the replacement window does not fit into the service elevator”

The Residences at West 9th Street, plan CD240344, PDF page 171

When the whole building gets new windows

A few plans plan ahead for a building-wide replacement and split the cost. An Upper West Side plan says that if the board decides all the windows should be replaced:

“(i) each Unit Owner shall pay for the cost to acquire and install the windows in the Unit Owner’s Unit; and (ii) all of the Unit Owners shall share the common costs (e.g., architect’s and engineer’s fees, site safety, sidewalk bridges, permits and necessary approvals, the cost to dispose of the old windows…”

211 West 84th Street Condominium, plan CD230137, PDF page 42

The same page splits broken glass by cause: you pay if it broke from inside your apartment, and all owners share the cost if it broke from outside.

Board Approval and the Uniform Look

Condos want the outside of the building to look the same from the street. So even when you pay, you usually can't pick any window you like.

“Prior to the replacement of any glass window, the Residential Unit Owner must obtain the prior approval of the Condominium Board with respect to the type of replacement windows to be installed.”

45 East 7th Street Condominium, plan CD190318, PDF page 140

Some buildings go further and have the board do the work itself, at your expense:

“Necessary repairs and replacements to each Residential Unit's windows, doors and skylights are to be performed by the Residential Board at such Residential Unit Owner's sole cost and expense, subject to Board approval in order to ensure that uniform materials are used throughout the Building.”

91 Leonard Street Condominium, plan CD170129, PDF page 129

The uniform-look rules often reach the glass and your shades too:

“The interior and exterior glass surfaces of all windows located in any Residential Unit shall not be colored or painted. The portions of all curtains, drapes, blinds or other window treatments visible from the exterior of the Building must be white”

The Belnord Condominium, plan CD160128, PDF page 796

Landmarked Buildings: the City Gets a Vote

If the building is a landmark or sits in a historic district, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) must approve exterior changes, windows included. 202 plans mention the LPC on a page about windows.

This is mostly an issue for older buildings. Among conversions and gut renovations of existing buildings, 21% of plans raise it, compared with 6% of new-construction plans. A Tribeca rehab puts it plainly:

“As such, window color, configuration and details are all subject to various New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (“LPC”) approvals and cannot be modified without separate approval by the LPC.”

85 Worth Condominium, plan CD230315, PDF page 29

Another plan is blunter about the odds of changing anything later:

“Modifications to the Building exterior in the future, including window replacement or changes, mechanical equipment installation, additions to the roofs or terraces, have to be approved by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Experience has shown that such approvals are unlikely in most circumstances.”

130 West 30th Street Condominium, plan CD030023, PDF page 333

Landmark-approved windows, like wood frames with divided panes, can cost more than standard ones. Budget for that if you expect to replace them.

Local Law 11 and Facade Work

Local Law 11, now the city's Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP), requires buildings taller than six stories to have their exterior walls inspected every five years and to fix unsafe conditions. Window sills and lintels are part of the facade, so repairs often happen around your windows. 1,053 plans mention it. Facade work is usually a common expense, paid by all owners through common charges or an assessment.

New buildings note that inspections will come:

“The project will be subject to NYC Local Law 11/1998 with respect to periodic inspection of the facade.”

15 Hudson Yards Condominium, plan CD150325, PDF page 393

A plan for an existing building can disclose problems already found:

“Unsafe conditions have been identified per the latest FISP report, attached here within, which consist of damaged masonry, cracked concrete, cracked sills, and cracked coping.”

118 West 13th Street Condominium, plan CD240218, PDF page 304

New Construction vs. Conversions

In a new building, the windows are new and often under warranty. The architect's report in a new-construction plan describes a manufacturer warranty:

“agreeing to repair or replace defective window materials, finish on window material and glass for ten (10) year warranty period and parts and workmanship for 1 year from date of Substantial Completion.”

39 East 29th Street Condominium, plan CD060822, PDF page 298

In a conversion, you may be buying old windows. The engineer's report tells you their age and condition. One Brooklyn rehab says:

“The windows vary in age significantly with some estimated to be historic windows over fifty years old to windows about ten years old. Older windows typically lack the thermal break and insulation capacity of newer windows, resulting in higher energy bills, more frequent maintenance, and increased fragility.”

232 Adelphi Street Condominium, plan CD240350, PDF page 172

Read that report before you sign. If your windows are old and the by-laws make them your expense, replacement is your cost to plan for.

What to Check Before You Buy

You can read the declaration and by-laws for any building in its offering plan on The Condo Book Project. For more on the plan itself, see What is a condo offering plan?

Common Questions

Who pays to replace windows in an NYC condo?

Usually the apartment owner. Most by-laws make the owner pay for repairs and replacement of the windows in their apartment, including broken glass, while the condo pays to clean and maintain the outside of the building. Check your building's by-laws, since some split the cost.

Are condo windows common elements?

It depends on the declaration. Some make windows part of the apartment. Others call them limited common elements, owned by the condo but used by one apartment. Even then, the owner often pays for them.

Can I install different windows in my condo?

Usually not without the board's approval. Many by-laws require the board to approve the type of replacement window so the building looks uniform from outside. In a landmarked building, the Landmarks Preservation Commission must approve too.

Does Local Law 11 make me pay for new windows?

Facade repairs under Local Law 11 are generally a common expense shared by all owners. Replacing the windows inside your apartment is usually your cost under the by-laws, unless the plan says otherwise.

Insights come from the declarations, by-laws and engineer's reports in NYC condo offering plans filed with the New York State Attorney General. We searched the full text of each plan for window clauses; a plan counts once however many pages match, and counts are a floor, since scanned pages can read imperfectly. Quotes are word for word, with page numbers from the plan PDF. Conversions here include gut renovations of existing buildings. This is general information, not legal advice; your attorney should review the plan and its amendments. Updated as of Oct 13, 2026.