Page 2 - CooperatorNews New York June 2022

2 COOPERATORNEWS — JUNE 2022 COOPERATORNEWS.COM Our Investment. Your Return. CALL BARGOLD TODAY! (718) 247-7000 Storage4u@bargold.com WWW.BARGOLD.COM Give your residents the extra space they need. We will turn your unused building space into a secure, state-of-the-art storage facility FOR FREE. We will handle everything from start to finish, and we’ll PAY YOU monthly. THE STREETS ARE FULL AGAIN! Your Condo Doesn’t Have To Be. tion, they’re in the same boat as a renter. Kris Kasten, a partner at Bartzen Rosen- The co-op owns the unit, so if they follow lund Kasten, a law firm based in Chicago, and regain possession of his or her unit.” It the appropriate rules, \\\[the board\\\] can re- move the shareholder, evict him or her, to evict a unit owner for nonpayment of owns the unit in this scenario. recover possession, etc.” This contrasts common expenses. The prospect of being sharply with condo unit owners, who are evicted from one’s condo unit has proven the lords of their realm, much as single- family homeowners. “Conceptually,” says pay—which makes an eviction action the to state. For example, the path to ejec- McCracken, “it’s impossible and unfeasible primary method for assessment collection. tion from a co-op in New Jersey is set to evict a condo owner” in the same way a After taking possession of the condo unit through individual communities’ bylaws co-op board can remove a non-paying or through an eviction action, the association and proprietary lease terms, says Piek- otherwise chronically problematic share- holder. Rules and norms can vary somewhat amount. Once the unit owner’s account from region to region. “In Illinois,” says is brought current, the unit owner may “condo associations have a statutory right should be clearly noted that the owner still effective in getting non-paying owners to for whatever reason can vary from state may then lease the unit, and the rent col- lected goes toward paying the judgment file a motion to vacate the eviction order How it Works The process for getting a resident out arsky. “There are default provisions for non-payment. Shareholders can also be removed or ejected if they have broken rules and regulations and the offenses are egregious enough. The corporation can cancel a shareholders’ lease and stock to remove him or her.” As is the case in most disputes in New Jersey, ADR—alternative dispute resolution—is required before litigation can commence. Piekarsky notes that in condos, financial reasons—chronic arrears, default, etc.—are really the only grounds available for removing a unit owner in New Jersey, though he notes that associations can get injunctive relief and restraining orders if an owner’s offenses are behavioral rather than financial. In Illinois, when an eviction is used to collect unpaid assessments in a condo as- sociation, the first step in evicting a unit owner is to serve that owner with a statu- torily required demand letter. Kasten ex- plains that “if the defaulting owner fails or refuses to pay the amount demanded within the time prescribed in the letter— typically at least 30 days—then the condo association may file an eviction action. Upon filing the eviction action, the case proceeds in the manner that litigation gen- erally does; the defendants must be served with a summons and complaint, and the plaintiff must prove its case, whether at trial or an ex parte prove-up proceeding. However, an eviction order involving a condo unit will be stayed for a minimum of 60 days—and up to 180 days at the judge’s discretion. That means that the condo association cannot place an evic- tion order with the sheriff to execute the eviction until after the stay expires. That gives unit owners at least 60 days to pay the judgment and avoid the eviction. If the owner fails to pay within the stay period, the association can proceed with evicting him or her. The actual eviction is executed by the sheriff of the county in which the condo is located. Upon taking possession of the unit, the association may then lease it,” and use those rental proceeds to pay the owner’s arrears. In a cooperative setting, evictions are used to collect unpaid assessments and to deal with other violations of the govern- ing documents. Unlike the process in a condo, the co-op procedure is more like a typical landlord-tenant eviction. The first step is to serve the member with a notice informing the shareholder that their pro- prietary lease or occupancy agreement will terminate as of a set date, and de- manding they vacate the apartment on or before that date. The notice includes the basis for termination of the lease, such as non-payment of assessments or carrying charges. If the default is not cured in the time prescribed (e.g., the assessments are not paid), then the cooperative may file an eviction action. Upon filing that action, the case will proceed like most litigation REMOVALS... continued from page 1 continued on page 12