Multifamily buildings—both new and existing—face barriers to decarbonization amid competing demands and growing pressure from legislation, residents, and tenants. But there are opportunities to build value today, namely energy efficiency an…
There’s an old joke about business partners on the outs. The punchline is something like, “my lawyer is bigger than your lawyer!” Punchlines aside, though, who can you sue, when, and for what? In our litigious society, the short answer is n…
When someone buys a private single-family home, it’s clear who the king or queen of the castle is: the homeowner. When it comes to condominiums and co-op apartments, however, the relationship between resident and property is a little more c…
According to the Foundation for Community Association Research’s Community Association Fact Book 2023, 30% of the U.S. population currently resides in a condominium community, housing cooperative, or homeowners association, with numbers of …
One of the most widely felt effects of New York City’s multiple efforts to fight climate change is the shift away from oil- and gas-fired heating plants to electric. These efforts have been, and continue to be, largely successful. One of th…
Over the years, multifamily co-op and condominium buildings have been notorious for the plethora of restrictions many impose upon residents, from smoking bans to strict quiet hours to forbidding holiday displays. While many of these restric…
Groucho Marx once famously said, “I wouldn’t belong to any club that would have me as a member.” Not so for many in the world of co-ops, condos, and HOAs. Shared communities often (if not usually) have an application process required for p…
This publication spends a lot of time exploring and explaining the duties and purpose of multifamily boards—the benefits and drawbacks of serving on them, and even the difficulty that many buildings and communities have with motivating owne…
Several new environmental rules are in the pipeline for multifamily co-op and condo communities in New York City. One, Local Law 157 relates to natural gas detectors, and the other, Local Law 88, as amended by Local Laws 132 and 134, requir…
Back in 2021, Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), a federal law requiring most corporations, LLCs, and other such entities to register with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The …