What Is a Condo Offering Plan? The NYC "Condo Book" Explained

Updated Sep 25, 2026 · 4 min read

Short answer: A condo offering plan, or condo book, is the disclosure document a developer must file with the New York State Attorney General before it can sell a single unit, with each unit's price (Schedule A), the first-year budget (Schedule B), the special risks, the governing documents and the purchase agreement. The AG checks that the plan discloses everything material, not that the price, the budget or the building is any good. The plan is the entire offer, so a sales-office promise that isn't in it or a later amendment isn't part of the deal.

The Condo Book, Defined

The sponsor (the developer or seller) has to file the plan before it can offer or sell any unit. The requirement is the Martin Act, General Business Law § 352-e, which treats condo units as securities. For new and vacant buildings, the AG's rules on what the plan must contain are 13 NYCRR Part 20. Each plan gets an ID starting with CD (what a CD number means).

The plan's cover has to say it is "the entire offer to sell these condominium units," and that filing it "does not mean that the Department or any other government agency has approved" the offering (13 NYCRR 20.3(a)(7)). Both lines matter. The first means sales-office promises that aren't in the plan aren't part of the deal. The second means the AG checked the disclosure, not the building, the price or the budget's realism.

What the AG Reviews, and What It Doesn't

It reviews completeness. The plan must not leave out a material fact or state an untrue one (§ 352-e(1)(b)). The AG answers each submission within 30 days with acceptance or a list of deficiencies (§ 352-e(2)); most plans go several rounds. (How long that takes.)
It doesn't set prices or judge the budget. Schedule A prices are the sponsor's. The Schedule B budget is the sponsor's projection; a lean first-year budget is allowed as long as its assumptions are disclosed.
It doesn't inspect the building. For new construction, the plan describes what the sponsor intends to build. Construction quality is a matter for the sponsor's warranties, not the AG's review.

What's Inside

Special risks. Up front. The rules require anything reasonably likely to affect common charges or owners' obligations to be "conspicuously disclosed," and doubts go in favor of including it (13 NYCRR 20.3(c)). Read it first.
Schedule A. Each unit's price, size, common interest, and estimated common charges and taxes. How to read Schedule A and Schedule B.
Schedule B. The first-year budget and the assumptions behind each line.
Description of the property and floor plans: what is being built and what each unit includes.
Declaration and by-laws. The governing documents: the board, common charges, leasing and alteration rules.
Purchase agreement, the contract you sign, and the identity of parties: sponsor, principals, selling agent, managing agent, architect and lawyers.
Sponsor obligations. What the sponsor pays on unsold units and what it has promised to build or fix.

The Rules That Give Buyers Leverage

Effectiveness. The plan can't be declared effective until buyers have signed for at least 15% of the units; it must be declared effective at 80% (13 NYCRR 20.3(q)). If the sponsor abandons the plan before then, deposits come back in full.
Material changes. The plan must be amended promptly when facts change. If an amendment is materially adverse, existing buyers get at least 15 days to rescind and get their deposits back (13 NYCRR 20.5(a)).
Prices are negotiable. Where the plan says so, a sponsor can sell a unit below its Schedule A price without filing an amendment (13 NYCRR 20.3(k)). Schedule A is an asking price.
Deposits are trust money. Money a sponsor takes from buyers is held in trust and can't be mixed with the sponsor's own (GBL § 352-h).

The latest amendment often matters more than the original plan. See how to find and read amendments, including what they show about price cuts.

Condo vs. Co-op Offering Plans

Co-ops file offering plans too, including when a rental building converts. In a condo you buy real property, the unit and a share of the common elements; in a co-op you buy shares in a corporation that owns the building. The Condo Book Project covers condominium plans, including conversions, plus a few combined co-op/condo plans. Of the 8,250 New York City plans on the site, 82% are new construction and the rest are rehabs or conversions.

How to Find a Building's Condo Book

Search the address or name on The Condo Book Project, or browse the buildings directory.
On the building's page, open the plan from the Attorney General's site and check the amendments table.
If the plan is searchable, search inside it for what you need, like "parking" or "managing agent", and jump to the page.
Or go to the source: search the NY Attorney General's offering plan database.

The Condo Book Project holds 8,338 offering plan records, 2,220 searchable in full text. The newest NYC condo filings are listed with their CD numbers.

FAQ

Is a condo offering plan public?

Yes. Filed plans are public records. The Attorney General posts plan records online and, for many filings, the plan and amendment PDFs.

Does the Attorney General approve the condo?

No. The AG accepts the plan for filing once its disclosure is complete. The cover must say the filing doesn't mean any government agency approved the offering.

Does every NYC condo have an offering plan?

Condos offered for sale by a sponsor do. For older buildings with no documents online, copies can be requested from the Attorney General through a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request.

Can I get out of a contract if the plan changes?

If an amendment discloses a material adverse change, the sponsor must offer you at least 15 days to rescind and return your deposit. Smaller changes don't give you that right.

Do I still need a lawyer if I read the plan?

Yes. A New York real estate attorney can tell you what the terms mean for your purchase. The Condo Book Project helps you find the language; it is not legal advice.