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Hi all...this is a bit complex, so I will do my best to be clear.
The main question is: To what extent does a condo board have the power/right to ensure that owners are following clearly stated state/city/regional housing laws?
Here are some examples:
There are mandated rules about what is considered to be an actual bedroom. In our complex, in units that do not have exterior sidewalls with windows, there is a smaller room that most people use as offices because they do not have the requisite window. However, we do know that some people are also using these as bedrooms. Are we, as a board, to assume that folks know the law and should follow it, without the board pushing the statute? Should we simply send out a reminder to all just for them to keep it in mind and then let it go? What is the right thing to do on the board's part?
We have also have an issue in several units where there are clearly more people living in apartments than are probably allowed by the law. Our first challenge is finding those laws (though we believe that the limit is two people per actual bedroom -- and that room has to be a bonafide bedroom with a window). These are duplex apartments, that are not supposed to have any bedroom spaces in the cellars (that is another issue we've been dealing with). One unit has three legitimate bedrooms, with about 12 people living in the entire apartment (illegally using the cellar). The other duplex is, by law, a two-bedroom (and the same issue with the cellar), that has about 13 people living in it. What the heck does a board do in this case? (Note that these families own these units.)
Finally, there is the barbecue law. We assume that everyone knows this. Perhaps they don't. Is it our role as the board to remind folks of this law? And, if people don't, then what?
I think part of the challenge is making sure the board is not power crazy...but when you start looking around at all of the broken rules, some with potential building-wide hazards, you wonder how much control the board needs to take? Can't a reminder/fyi be enough, and then the onus is on the unit owners if they "get caught?"
Thx for fielding this concern.
the fire department should be able to give you a definive answer on bbg. i know you wish to have a congenial atnmosphere, but fire codes are anothjer mater. the FD should inform you what to do, probably a copy of the nyc law and the fines from the city , and if you see a dangerous condition, anyone should call the FD. They will write the icket or fines not the condo or coop
Here is a link with info on occupancy - http://nycrgb.org/html/resources/hmc/sub3/art4.html
If a violation gets written, I believe it's generally against the registered property owner, ie: the coop, not the shareholder. I would suggest that you have a real estate attorney review the situations and advise you of a course of action. Any violation will have to be dealt with by the coop, and if you decide to revoke the unit owners proprietary leases, it runs into money quickly - lost maintenance, attorney fees, bad will. It could take many months or even years to collect from a lease revocation, ultimately most likely from the resale of the apartment.
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I am not a lawyer, and it sounds like these are questions you should really be asking an attorney who specializes in Co-op and Condo law. Questions like overcrowding and open BBQ fires are not only legal issues but safety issues as well. You should pose all your questions to an attorney and be guided by her/his answer. This is not being power crazy, it is being prudent.
Good luck.
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