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Hi can you tell me who is responsible for the electric inside the wall in a co-op
Join the Conversation Comments (1)Wiring and pipes inside the wall is the Coop/Condo's responsible. Contact your managing agent to have a license electrician to check to see what the problem is. Then go by his/her suggestion. Good Luck.
Everything within the walls is the coops responsibility. Electric and pluming.
The only exception is if you open the wall and cause damage to pipes
In my building the separation between co-op responsibility and shareholder responsibility is the "envelope" of the unit - the four wall enclosing the unit, the floor, and the ceiling. A wall that is inside the envelope, i.e. between two rooms in the apartment, is not considered a common area.
The exception to this is original building services such as plumbing wet walls and electrical risers that may run through an interior wall are still the co-op's responsibility. The same is true for telephone trunk lines, intercom trunk lines, cable and FiOS backbone lines, etc. The guide we us is "if the service affects more than one unit, responsibility belongs to the co-op. If the service is used exclusively by the shareholder owners of the unit, they are responsible."
Sometimes this level of granularity is needed to avoid protracted disagreements. It's pretty easy for most shareholders to understand. You should also find wording in your proprietary lease that describes the boundaries of an apartment and who is responsible for what.
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If the problem is outside the envelope of the unit (four walls of the periphery, floor, and ceiling) then most likely the co-op is. If it is anywhere inside the apartment envelope, then the shareholder most likely is.
A reasonable line of demarcation is the circuit breaker panel. If the problem is located anywhere before the main building feeder enters the breaker panel, it's most likely the co-op. If the problem is located with a circuit breaker or any of the distribution lines it controls, then most likely the shareholder.
Read your proprietary lease to see if there are any special provisions. A rule-of-thumb we use to determine responsibility is anything outside of the envelope is common area and the responsibility of the co-op corporation. Anything inside the envelope is the responsibility of the shareholder.
Your mileage may vary. :-)
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