Page 10 - NY Cooperator December 2019

10 THE COOPERATOR —
DECEMBER 2019
COOPERATOR.COM
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New York’s
Serving The Whole
State of New York.
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Providing Practical Legal Advice and Representation to Cooperative
and Condominium Associations for More Than Forty Years
• General Counsel
• Residential and Commercial Real Estate and Leasing
• Real Estate and Commercial Litigation
• Mortgage Financing
• Commercial, Corporate and Business Law
• Comme
• Mitchell-Lama Housing
• Transfer Agent Services
• Construction Law and Gas Conversions
Jack Lepper: jlepper@kll-law.com
Ronald Gold: rgold@kll-law.com
Adam Finkelstein: afinkelstein@kll-law.com
Fran Lawless: flawless@kll-law.com
Fran L
concern among investors revolves around
what moves the Fed will make, and what
will ultimately happen with the China
trade war. There is, overall, too much
uncertainty. The bond market is already
collectively terrified, and while discuss-
ing bonds may be the cure for insomnia,
the reaction of those markets to political
influences has repercussions on the mar-
kets that provide financing for real estate
purchases.
2019 will likely be remembered as one
of tentative change. Investors in both
real estate and financial markets are cau-
tiously trying to find their way through
a myriad of factors, including the change
to our basic tax laws. The early winners
appear to be low tax areas with room for
growth. The losers appear to be high tax
areas that have benefitted from growth
and investment during the past cycle.
Miller says it’s too early to tell long term,
but that 2020 will be a year that reflects
the changes already under way, and the
ability of investors to react and adjust.
n
A J Sidransky is a writer/reporter for Th e
Cooperator, and a published novelist.
2019-2020...
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50,000 Airbnb listings are for an entire
home or apartment—and 34.1% are hosts
with multiple listings (which can be mul-
tiple rooms in one home or apartment,
or multiple entire apartments or homes).
Th ese data points indicate that a majority of
hosts in New York, which is Airbnb’s larg-
est domestic market, are not in occupancy provisions exist to protect the corporation
when renting their rooms or apartments or association and its owner-shareholders’
—which puts them in violation of the New economic interests, comfort and quality of
York State Multiple Dwelling Law, the New life, and safety. Airbnb and its ilk upend
York City Administrative Code, the New these protections, putting buildings and
York City Zoning Resolution, and most communities at risk on a number of fronts.
likely the host’s own proprietary lease or
condo declaration.
Th erefore, residents of multifamily ris McLaughlin, which has offi ces in New
housing thinking of making their homes York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, if
available for ‘share’ would do well to review owners and shareholders are opening their
their building or association’s policies fi rst. units to a constantly rotating parade of
According to New York City’s Offi ce of Spe-
cial Enforcement (OSE) Director Christian who’s coming in and out of the building”—
Klossner, “Owners, condo boards, and co-
op boards should be reviewing their leases, ing security. Most buildings or associations
community rules, and bylaws to make sure have an established procedure for guest
they can stay in compliance with applicable access, whether that be signing in with a
laws, consulting with their counsel when doorman, acquiring entry through an in-
necessary. We encourage all New Yorkers to tercom, or presenting identifi cation to a
stay in the know about the rules and laws security guard. Airbnb guests who stay in
related to illegal short-term rentals that ap-
ply to the buildings they live in or own so in residence avoid these procedures, and
that everyone has access to safe and aff ord-
able living conditions.”
Indeed, most co-ops forbid subletting aware of the arrangement. (Th e same is
altogether; others impose restrictions on true even for friends or extended family of
how long a shareholder can sublet, or set an owner or shareholder, by the way. Th at
durations for shareholder occupancy be-
fore the unit can be sublet, or both. Even mate to stay in your apartment while you
where subletting is permitted, the bylaws are away on a long vacation, you risk violat-
dictate lease and renewal terms—usually ing your proprietary lease and endangering
one year at minimum—and require that all your neighbors—which may prompt them
occupants be interviewed by a screening or your board to refer the matter to authori-
committee and approved by the board of ties. So it pays to reach out to your board or
directors.
Condos are following suit, adds Todd M. All those safety and security measures that
Ross of One Point Brokerage, a commercial are in place to protect you and your belong-
insurance brokerage based in Manhattan. ings—and, which, not incidentally, you pay
“We have also seen new condo buildings for through your common charges—are be-
put prohibitions in their governing docu-
ments on unit owners renting units out for
less than a period of one year. Th is gives
them more leverage over any short-term
rental issues that arise from unit owners.”
Most condominium associations already
forbid leases shorter than 30 days, and
many have application procedures that are
as labor- and fee-intensive as those of co-
ops.
Stranger Dangers
While they may seem onerous, these
For one thing, says Dean M. Roberts,
Esq., an attorney with the law fi rm Nor-
short-term renters, “Th ere’s no control over
a clear tax on (if not a collapse of) build-
a home without the owner or shareholder
could be seen as trespassers if neighbors,
management, or security personnel aren’t
is, if you are inviting your college room-
management before you pack your bags!)
ing short-circuited any time someone stays
THE ILLEGAL...
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