Agreement to Assign Proprietary Lease of Cooperative Apartment and Membership

An apartment cooperative will typically involved a corporation renting apartments to people who are also owners of stock in the corporation. The apartment complex is owned by the corporation.

Two basic documents are ordinarily involved in the transfer of a member's or stockholder's interest in a cooperative apartment corporation: (1) an agreement for the purchase and sale of the proprietary lease and the appurtenant membership or stock; and (2) the instrument of assignment.

The agreement of purchase and sale is similar in format to an agreement for the sale of real property. The seller agrees to assign all rights under the proprietary lease covering the unit, and to sell the membership or stock in the corporation. The seller also agrees to procure the consent of the corporation to the transfer if this is required in the proprietary lease. The purchaser agrees to pay the purchase price and to submit references to the corporation and otherwise cooperate in procuring its consent to the transfer, and also promises to execute an agreement in a form approved by the corporation by which the purchaser assumes and agrees to be bound by all covenants and conditions of the proprietary lease.

The instrument of assignment does not differ materially from an ordinary assignment of a lease of real property, except that the assignor's interest in the membership or stock in the corporation is assigned together with interests under the proprietary lease. Ordinarily, the assignor declares that there are no liens or other claims outstanding against the lease or the shares to be assigned, that there are no undischarged bankruptcy proceedings or unsatisfied judgments or tax liens outstanding against the assignor, and that the assignor has full right and authority to assign the lease and shares.