Co-op Board Keeps Denying Qualified Applicants

Location: New York, United States

I am a shareholder for a co-op board a recently had my second, very qualified buyer, denied after a very strange process. I am hoping to better understand if there are any legal next steps that I can take and better understand my rights as a shareholder.

My first applicant applied in July 2025 and was denied in October immediately following his interview with the board. I was told by the management company they aren’t required to give any information about the decision and to just move on, which we did. We assumed perhaps it was a personality fit.

Our second applicant was extremely strong. He was nearly all cash, solid six-figure income, and very little expenses outside of the building HOA fees. Moreover, he was recently a shareholder with the same management company (planning on downsizing from a larger apartment in the complex) and received a strong letter of recommendation from the building manager.

The interview itself was unusual. The coop board president did not attend and I heard that they berated him on his financials and savings, rather than focusing on whether he would be a good fit. Further, the information was already reviewed and approved by the Management company. After the interview, they asked him to change his income from Gross to Net and took an additional 4 weeks until they sent the rejection letter. The explanation given was that there were concerns arising from the interview.

I later spoke with the president of the management company and was told the reason it did not pass is that a few individuals on the board never submitted a vote, so they defaulted to “No”. Our bylaws require 4 votes to move forward and since they didn’t have enough votes to approve they couldn’t move forward.

I understand coops have strict bylaws, but I’m trying to understand if we have any legal basis for this as it sounds like the board members are neglecting their responsibilities which is causing financial hardship to me and my family. Do we just need to suck it up and put it back on the market and pray all of the board members vote next time? I’m so worried about how long this can take.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Apologies if the format is off, this is my first long Reddit post after years on reddit. Thanks!

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the purchaser said 4-5 people attended the interview of the 6 board members. 4 votes are needed “yes” of the 6, and some did not respond.