How Much Should NYC Condo Common Charges Be?
Summary: 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.
Average Condo Common Charges in NYC: The Benchmarks
Average first-year common charges per residential unit, per year:
| All NYC plans | $9,400 · 640 plans |
|---|---|
| Brooklyn | $7,100 · 480 plans |
| Queens | $5,900 · 80 plans |
| Manhattan | $27,500 · 76 plans |
| 2–6 units | $8,200 · 287 plans |
| 7–12 units | $7,300 · 204 plans |
| 13–30 units | $13,600 · 79 plans |
| 31–100 units | $16,100 · 53 plans |
| 101+ units | $13,100 · 16 plans |
All plans, then by borough, then by building size (residential units). Boroughs with fewer than ten plans and sizes with fewer than five are left out.
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 drive most of the difference between low and high common charges:
- Staff. Where a budget has payroll and cleaning, they take an average 21% of it, and a front desk staffed around the clock means several full-time positions. A building with no staff skips that line.
- Elevator. Adds maintenance contracts, inspections, and insurance. Budgets with an elevator line spend an average of 9% on it.
- 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, $7,300 per unit a year.
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 24% of these plans that name a managing agent, it's the sponsor, and 118 of those 149 record no fee. The real cost (the average management line in these budgets is about $21,900 a year for the whole building) 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.
The catch: 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
- Find the offering plan and open Schedule B. (New to offering plans? Start with what a condo offering plan is.)
- Divide total expenses by residential units for a per-unit figure; compare to the table above.
- Read the footnotes on insurance, management, and reserves.
- 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 1,800 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".
FAQ
What are average condo common charges in NYC?
In NYC condo offering plans accepted since Oct 19, 2021, the average first-year budget works out to about $9,400 per residential unit per year. By borough, per unit per year: Brooklyn $7,100, Queens $5,900, Manhattan $27,500.
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 yearly charge is that percentage times the building's total budget, usually billed monthly.
Where do these benchmarks come from?
From the projected first-year budgets (Schedule B) in the 640 New York City condominium offering plans accepted since Oct 19, 2021 with a reconciled Schedule B, a single budget and a Schedule A unit list, the same plans as the common charges data page. Figures are averages; sponsor projections, not actual charges; updated as of Oct 19, 2026.
How is the per-unit figure counted?
Each figure is the homes' share of first-year expenses divided by the number of homes. Where a building also has stores or offices, only the homes' share counts.
Related: Condo Supplies Cost per Unit, by Size · Where Do NYC Condo Common Charges Go?