Dealing with a Neighbor Who Is Running a Business Out of Her Co-op

Aug. 18, 2015 — For various reasons, it's a huge no-no to run a business out of your co-op apartment. But it looks like that's not stopping one co-op resident from running a party-planning business, much to the chagrin of her very annoyed neighbor. He tells Ronda Kaysen in this week's Ask Real Estate column in The New York Times that she "has messengers and deliveries coming and going whenever she has a party to plan." The neighbor has notified the managing agent, "who has passed the information on to the board." But what happens in the event the board "chooses not to enforce the rules." Kaysen explains that "co-ops have a good reason for banning home businesses: They are disruptive, and in many cases violate zoning rules." She adds that the co-op board "should take the matter seriously," never mind the offending neighbor, who "should find a more appropriate place to plan parties." At the end of the day, this becomes a quality of life issue so it does seem unlikely that the board wouldn't move on the complaint. However, adds Kaysen, if the "board seems lax in its response, keep a log of the times when the business interferes with your quality of life. Do the constant deliveries, for example, disturb the peace? Reach out to other shareholders and see if they would be willing to sign a letter urging the board to remedy the situation."