Keys and Access to Co-op / Condo Apts: What Are Boards' Entry Rights?

The first step to get into a co-op or condo apartment is to check the exact language of the rules that govern the property, including the house rules, the condo or co-op offering plan, or the bylaws of the property. If the building is a co-op, also check the terms of the proprietary lease. The standard offering plan says that the co-op board or the management company can enter an apartment for "an appropriate purpose."

This doesn't mean just emergencies. At Le Havre, a self-managed, 32-building property in Queens, the schedule of a window-replacement capital improvement project left no room for delay — no time for residents who refused to open their doors when the work needed to be done. Contractors had to get into every one of the 1,021 cooperative apartments, several times. First, they needed to tape plastic over the windows, both inside and out. Then they had to enter the apartments again to rip out and replace the old windows.

"One or two shareholders objected to us coming into their homes," says Stanley Greenberg, treasurer of the co-op board. "We talked to them, sent a few letters. It always gets resolved."

At some co-op properties, the proprietary leases also are written to allow property managers the right to demand entrance to randomly selected cooperative apartments to make sure that residents are following the rules, such as covering the floors with carpets.

Emergency Access

If a building is in danger of sudden catastrophic damage — for example, from a massive leak or an overflowing bathtub — property managers who have no other means to enter the unit can also legally break the locks and enter an apartment, at the resident's expense, experts say. And there is reason to believe a person's life is in danger behind a locked door, and if the building managers don't instantly provide the keys, then the police or the fire department are likely to drill the lock or smash the door open themselves.

The only ambiguity is whether a particular situation qualifies as an emergency. Some management companies have exaggerated or made up potential emergencies, such as a potential gas leak, as a pretext to enter an apartment for other, less urgent reasons. Here's a useful rule of thumb: if a situation has already existed for weeks or months, it probably isn't an emergency. Property managers who claim an emergency should be prepared to justify their claim if first responders such as firefighters enter the apartment and don't find anything. Faking an emergency is against the law.

What the Law Says

The New York State Multiple Dwelling Law, Section 51-c , requires that residents provide a key to management in case of emergency. Without a key, a steel door and a dead-bolt lock can prove surprisingly resistant to drills and pry bars, costing emergency workers time.

However, not all property managers press residents to turn over keys. Residents often fear keys may be stolen if they aren't watched day and night — for example, if they're left in a super's workshop.

"If it's a doorman building, we press for the keys," says Steven Hirsch, director of management for Manhattan's Goodstein Management. "There's someone to watch the keys all the time." In buildings without a 24-hour doorman, Goodstein instead gathers emergency contact numbers for resident cell phones and relatives in case of an emergency.

Property managers determined to gather keys should send a letter to residents and follow up. If a resident refuses to surrender the keys, managers should have the lawyer representing the property send a letter to the resident that clearly explains their responsibilities.

If threats don't work, management can take the resident to court, which will almost certainly issue a court order requiring the resident to provide a key. In most cases the decision is issued within two months, experts say. The loser is also required to pay the court costs for both sides in the case, which could add up to thousands of dollars.

Adapted from Habitat January 2010. For the complete article and more, join our Archive >>