Q The board of managers of our upstate condo issued a ruling that any unit owner who is behind in payment of common charges cannot vote at the annual meeting. Our bylaws only say that each unit owner is entitled to one vote. No menti…
Q I live in a building in New York City that is currently operated as a rental. It’s in terrible shape. Many of my fellow tenants and I have considered the co-op route. How does one go about this? —Going Co-op A “I th…
Q As a board member of an Upper West Side Building, we have grappled with the notion of washing machines in apartments. Those that have them may keep them and update them. Those that do not already have washing machines cannot install …
Q I live in a condo with indoor parking facilities. The board recently sent a notice informing residents with current parking that the identity of each vehicle would be kept in order to ensure that owners do now allow unauthorized u…
Q Our board is thinking of instituting move-in fees. What is a fair move-in fee? How could we implement this policy without a shareholder vote? What could we do with the money we collect? Could it go into the reserve fund or would it ha…
Q I am a shareholder at a co-op. A radiator (which is located in my wall) was leaking water to the apartment below. I was not aware of it. The super came and fixed a valve and replaced the radiator (which had a hole in it) with a new o…
Q What happens if board members consistently miss meetings, or don’t attend, messing up the voting process for a board? What recourse do we have? —Attentive Board Member A “Removal of a member of the board of…
Q I’m a shareholder in a co-op in Park Slope. The board has summarily decided that we no longer require a full-time, live-in superintendent. When I served on the board several years ago, I understood that a building had to have a partic…
Q Who checks up on the board? Does the board police themselves from within, or is the managing agent checking up on their actions? If the board makes a mistake, will the shareholders be notified? In what way is a board accountable to th…
Q I live in a 140-unit co-op building. The building was built in 1961 and was converted in 1985 under a non-eviction plan. The former sponsor still owns about 20 percent of all the units. These units are either rent-controlled or rent-…