Category: Q&A

I am president of a co-op board in Queens, NY. It has come to my attention that a sexual predator moved in with his son, who owns the apartment. I informed my security team and they are watching him very closely since there are children…

Under New York law, does a landlord have a general right to inspect leased residential premises in the absence of a specific lease provision granting that right? Assuming no written lease, no specific agreement on the issue, and that th…

Q “The current president has mailed proxies to owners indicating he would vote on  their behalf and included information that stated “the proxy-holder will cast votes as he/she determines” for the annual board election. The current presid…

Q I am currently interested in purchasing a co-op apartment. However, my mortgage  broker advised that since the co-op has issued both common and preferred stock,  that it does not technically qualify as a co-op under the IRS 216 ruling, …

Q Our co-op has a board member who shared a confidential board decision with the  shareholders and went so far as to initiate and circulate a petition for a  meeting of shareholders to reverse the board decision. Naturally, many  sharehol…

Q I have lived in my cooperative apt for the past 13 years and have never been  late with my carrying charges. In those years, the only repairs that the cooperative has made in my apartment  have been emergency repairs (there was a broken…

Q I am a board member and shareholder in a Westchester County cooperative where  there has recently been a lot of conflicts among board members. There is a  board member who owns her own realty company and is now privy to all  confidentia…

Q I am a co-op owner of 8 years and our management has raised the late fees from  $25 to $50. Can this be done without any warnings? This affects me as I am not able to pay the maintenance and parking by the 10th  of each month. I have wr…

Q Does a cooperative board have the legal right to create their own occupancy  guidelines?    —Curious Cooperator   A “The proprietary lease (sometimes called the “occupancy agreement” in certain co-ops) of a cooperative t…

Q I own a co-op in Mount Vernon, New York. I was unable to sell the co-op so the board approved a sub-lease. The  maintenance was in arrears by one month plus the current month. I was sent a letter by an attorney to pay the arrears plus t…