What Stays With a NYC Apartment? Fixtures and Exclusions

Start the inventory before the contract arrives

Walk through the apartment room by room and note anything that affects your decision or replacement budget. Examples include refrigerators, wine refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, washer-dryers, through-wall air conditioners, chandeliers, sconces, ceiling fans, mirrors, shades, custom shelving, mounted televisions, brackets, speakers, smart thermostats, and door or security equipment.

The useful question is not only whether an item looks attached. Ask whether it is expected to remain, whether the seller plans to remove or replace it, and whether the contract documents the same understanding. A listing photo, staging setup, oral statement, or casual message may help identify the issue, but it should not be treated as the final contract answer.

Use the standard forms as a checklist, not as your contract answer

The New York City Bar's 2023 model co-op contract lists many common categories of personal property and fixtures, including major appliances, cabinets and counters, lighting fixtures, chandeliers, sconces, ceiling fans, carpeting, HVAC equipment, window treatments, mirrors, built-in bookshelves, and attached or appurtenant items. The model condo contract follows a similar inclusion-and-exclusion structure.

Those forms are useful issue-spotting tools, but the City Bar says its real estate forms are starting points that may require transaction-specific changes and are not substitutes for counsel. Ask your attorney what the actual draft and signed contract say rather than relying on a generic online form.

Name exclusions precisely

An exclusion should identify the actual item clearly enough that the buyer, seller, attorneys, and final-inspection team are discussing the same thing. A dining-room chandelier, bedroom wall mirror, television and mounting bracket, freestanding wine refrigerator, or custom speaker system can carry very different expectations and removal consequences.

If an important item will be removed, ask what will remain in its place and what condition the wall, ceiling, wiring, plumbing, cabinetry, or floor should be in afterward. Do not assume that removal automatically creates a repair, replacement, credit, or cancellation right; ask counsel how the negotiated contract addresses it.

Separate physical items from parking, storage, and memberships

Parking, storage, a maid's room, a fitness-room membership, roof or terrace use, and other appurtenant interests should not be buried inside an appliance list. The 2023 model co-op form treats several of these as separately identified included interests. A condo parking or storage arrangement may also require review of recorded documents, the declaration, deed, license, lease, or building records.

Record the identifier, location, ownership or use-right structure, transfer approval, fee, and access device for each claimed interest. For a co-op, do not assume that a condo-style ACRIS search proves the transferability of a storage cage or parking space; route the applicable documents to the buyer's attorney and managing-agent or transfer-agent process.

Condition and inclusion are different questions

An item can be included in the sale while its required condition remains a separate contract question. Standard forms may address as-is delivery, working-order obligations for specified systems or appliances, removal damage, casualty, ordinary wear, and the buyer's right to inspect near closing, but negotiated language can change the result.

For each material item, track two columns: whether it stays and what condition the signed contract requires. This prevents an inventory discussion from being mistaken for a warranty discussion. It also helps the buyer decide what to test during inspection and what belongs in an attorney question before signing.

Move the list through the offer and attorney-review handoff

When an item matters to the price or decision, flag it in the offer or deal-sheet communication instead of waiting for the final walk-through. Send the buyer's attorney the list of requested inclusions, known exclusions, replacement promises, parking or storage claims, and any seller statement that needs contract review.

After the draft arrives, compare the contract and rider against the list. After signing, preserve the final version rather than relying on an earlier email. The concrete buyer action is a tracker with item, room, expected treatment, document location, condition requirement, access device, responsible reviewer, and final-inspection result.

Use the final inspection to verify, not renegotiate from memory

Bring the signed inventory and relevant contract references to the final inspection. Confirm that included items remain, excluded items are gone where required, agreed replacements match, removal did not leave unaddressed damage under the contract, and the apartment is delivered in the required condition.

Test only what the contract and access conditions allow, and confirm keys, mailbox keys, appliance manuals, remotes, fobs, garage transmitters, security codes, storage access, and building move-in instructions. If something is missing, substituted, damaged, or not operating as expected, document the fact and contact the buyer's attorney before closing rather than negotiating a remedy at the table on your own.

Buyer scenarios and checkpoints

A buyer values a dining-room chandelier shown in the listing. The listing side says it is excluded. The buyer should decide before contract whether the deal assumes removal, replacement, or inclusion, then have counsel confirm the written result.

A wall-mounted television will leave with the seller, but the bracket, concealed wiring, and wall repair are unclear. Treat the television, bracket, wiring, and resulting wall condition as separate checklist lines.

A co-op listing advertises a storage cage and parking arrangement. Ask for the exact identifiers and governing documents, then confirm transferability, fees, approvals, and access through counsel and the building process before treating either as part of the purchase.

What changes the answer

The answer changes with the signed contract and rider, property type, whether an item is built in or movable, specific exclusion language, separate ownership or license rights, building documents, seller representations, agreed condition, removal damage, casualty, and what exists at the final inspection.

It also changes when the apartment is staged, occupied by a tenant, sold by an estate, renovated with integrated systems, or marketed with separately owned parking or storage. These facts make precise documentation more important, not less.

What this article does not decide

This article does not decide whether a disputed object is legally a fixture, interpret a particular contract, draft rider language, or determine a buyer's remedy if an item is missing, damaged, substituted, or not working.

It is general NYC buyer process education, not legal, tax, mortgage, engineering, inspection, title, or building advice. Use the signed contract and transaction professionals for the property-specific answer.