sgradmin, Author at SGR Law

Apr 15, 2010

Recent Legislation for Green Buildings

The New York City Council has recently enacted, at Mayor Bloomberg’s request, four laws[1] that are designed to increase the energy efficiency of buildings in New York City. The legislation is rather complex, with various “start” dates, but the basic provisions that apply to cooperatives and condominiums are as follows: Effective July 1, 2010, all alterations, including apartment alterations, that require building permits must comply with the new New York City Energy Conservation Code and must be certified accordingly. Commencing January 1, 2013, all owners of “covered buildings” (those over 50,000 gross square feet) must file an energy efficiency report… Read more

Aug 26, 2009

New Powers of Attorney

New Sections 5-1501, 5-1501A and 5-1501B of the New York General Obligations Law[1] will take effect on September 1, 2009 that will affect the validity of powers of attorney. Although currently valid powers of attorney will remain in effect, all new powers of attorney must be drafted on a new statutory form or must incorporate the new language required by the law. The statutory changes will affect many transactions, including those involving cooperatives and condominiums. Under the new law, the agent, as well as the principal, must now sign the form, and the power will survive the incapacity of the… Read more

Aug 25, 2009

Authority to Impose Fines

We have been asked from time to time by cooperative (“coop”) and condominium boards about their ability to impose fines to ensure compliance with house rules. While the fines that boards seek to impose are generally small, boards occasionally seek to charge considerable sums for repeated or continuing infractions. You should be aware, however, that regardless of the amount, the legality of fines or penalty fees may be subject to question. Courts have determined that the New York Condominium Act authorizes a condominium board to impose fines. See Sweetman v. Board of Managers of Plymouth Village Condominium, 1998 WL 112655… Read more

Jun 12, 2009

New Ruling on Exclusive Cable Contracts

On May 26, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in the case of National Cable & Telecommunications Ass’n v. Federal Communications Commission, 2009 WL 1444094 (D.C. Cir. 2009), upheld a rule and order of the Federal Communications Commission, 22 F.C.C.R. 20,235 (2007), that banned exclusivity provisions in contracts between cable companies and owners of apartment buildings. There is the possibility that this decision may be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, but absent a reversal by the Supreme Court, the FCC rule governs. The decision by the Court of Appeals is an important… Read more

Apr 15, 2009

Security Deposits

A recent decision of the New York County Supreme Court[1] stressed that the statute governing the holding of security deposits[2] applies to cooperative apartments. Although, as a matter of practice, most cooperatives comply with the provisions of the statute, it is worth reviewing the statutory requirements. The statute requires all landlords (including cooperatives) that hold security deposits in connection with leases (including proprietary leases and subleases) to place such deposits into segregated bank accounts and not to commingle the deposits with any other funds. In addition, for buildings of six or more residential units, the segregated account must be interest-bearing,… Read more

Mar 27, 2009

Unit Owner Monetary Defaults

The current state of the national and local economy will likely lead to increased nonpayment of monthly charges by owners of cooperative and condominium apartments. The loss of income can affect the financial stability of a cooperative or condominium and, at least in the short run, the costs of unpaid maintenance or common charges must be borne by other owners. Therefore, it is important that boards have and enforce a clear policy as to payment arrears. The procedures and effectiveness of legal remedies for nonpayment differ substantially as between cooperatives and condominiums. Cooperative apartment owners are tenants for collection purposes,… Read more

Dec 2, 2008

Insurance: Prompt Notice of Claims

We have frequently reminded clients of the importance of promptly notifying their insurers of any actual, threatened or possible claims against them. This has been especially important in New York because the New York Court of Appeals has held that an insurer may deny coverage due to late notification, regardless of whether the delay actually prejudiced the insurer. During its 231st session, the New York State Legislature attempted to overrule this case law through legislation. Under an amendment to Section 3420 of the New York Insurance Law, an insurer may now no longer deny a claim for untimely notice unless… Read more

Apr 7, 2008

Authorization of Board Action

On March 31, 2008, the Supreme Court for New York County rendered a decision illustrating the importance for cooperatives and condominiums of documenting board and owner action properly. As cooperatives and condominiums age, the proper keeping of records has become an issue for many of them. It is an issue that should not be overlooked. In Pello v. 425 E. 50 Owners Corp. et al., 2008 N.Y. Slip Op. 30939(U) (Sup.Ct., N.Y. Co., Walter Tolub, J., March 31, 2008), a cooperative claimed to have enacted and subsequently modified a flip tax by board amendments to its by-laws. However, the coop… Read more

Dec 26, 2007

Amendment to the 80/20 Rule

On December 20, 2007, President Bush signed into law legislation dramatically liberalizing the so-called “80/20 Rule” restricting the amount of non-shareholder income cooperatives may receive.[1] As a practical matter, the legislation will eliminate commercial income restrictions for most cooperatives. Under the former rule, in order for a cooperative shareholder to receive the tax benefits normally afforded a homeowner, the cooperative could receive no more than 20% of its income from non-shareholder sources. As a result of this rule, cooperatives controlling substantial commercial space have often capped the rents payable by their commercial tenants below market rents in order to keep… Read more

Feb 15, 2007

Transfer on Death Designation

A provision was recently added to New York’s Estates, Powers and Trusts Law which may affect the ownership of cooperative apartments. Under the revised statute, transfer on death (“TOD”) designations may now be used for securities in New York State. These permit the owner of stock to designate a beneficiary on the stock registration so, that upon the death of the stockholder, the stock automatically transfers to the designated beneficiary without the expense and delay of a probate proceeding. The same result could be obtained previously by designating an individual as a “joint tenant”, but a joint tenant is a… Read more