Ever need to modify the pipes in your condo unit only to be denied access by your downstairs neighbor?

Those where the facts in the case of Marina Vornon and George Argiris v. Board of Managers of the Newswalk Condominium, et al. where the court granted such access.

This is the first time that a right to a construction license was granted in the condominium setting pursuant to RPAPL 881.

Moving forward, if you have a problem with your neighbor while performing condo construction, know that you have rights of access and if you can't negotiate those rights, a court can grant them to you in the form of a license.

Boards - take notice - knowing the law can avoid costly lawsuits.

Local Law 2017-147, which addresses Administrative Code Sections 17-502, 506.1, 508, and 513.2, requires all condos, co-ops and rentals in NYC to have smoking policies as of today. 

These policies must be included in the deed, the lease, the bylaws or rules, posted prominently and noticed annually. 

There are no rules of what the policies must be, but instead just that they must exist.
The purpose of these laws is to empower individuals to make informed decisions about where to live. 

Landlords - avoid civil monetary penalties by getting compliant immediately.  

In DOS v. Fletcher, a real estate broker was charged with incompetency and untrustworthiness for acting as a landlord's agent and failing "to assure that their client provided [the tenant] with the bed bug infestation history" for the unit.

As background, the Administrative Tribunal was addressing New York City's Administrative Code at §27-2018.1(a), which states:

For housing accommodations subject to this code, an owner shall furnish to each tenant signing a vacancy lease, a notice in a form promulgated or approved by the state division of housing and community renewal that sets forth the property's bedbug infestation history for the previous year regarding the premises rented by the tenant and the building in which the premises are located.

According to the Department of State, the "act of omission was a violation of the respondents' obligation to deal fairly and openly with a prospective renter."

Moving forward, all New York City Landlord's Agents MUST assure that their landlords provide the bedbug disclosure to avoid being charged with a license law violation.

Foreign Buyers

Instructor: Andrew Lieb, Esq., MPH

Credits: 3

Price: Free

February 28th, 2014: 11:00am to 2:45pm

Registration: Advanced Registration Required through www.liebschool.com 

International clients are all the rage … sometimes. Learn diverging perspectives on their ownership of US soil. Explore cultural sensitivity and anti-discrimination statutes while gaining an understanding of the real estate agents / educators need to familiarize foreigners with our local customs and laws. This course will split hairs between different levels of citizenship and the resulting rights and obligations afforded to purchasers. You will be familiarized with a multitude of reporting requirements and tax withholding statutes for purchasers, sellers and their property managers that can turn a foreign purchase into your worst nightmare, if ignored. After this course, the student will know what it takes to be a foreign buyer or the seller / property manager to such a buyer in New York.

On November 8, 2012, we wrote a blog called Airbnb is Brilliant - NYC Housing. Therein, we said that "[a]   major barrier to their success are local laws that prohibit short term rentals in many municipalities across the Country". We also referenced NYC's rental law and said that maybe Airbnb's helping with housing in the wake of the hurricane would generate enough good will to overturn the City's minimum rental law.

It didn't.

On 5/9/13, a NYC resident was found liable for a $2,400 Civil Penalty for violating AC 28-118.3.2 as a result of renting his condominium unit (actually the rental at issue was offered by the tenant of the unit, but that is irrelevant for this discussion) to two Russian women from the 9th to the 14th of September in 2012.

NYC's minimum rental period law is designed to prevent transient guests, which is a topic that have discussed previously on quite a few occasions such as in February of 2010 and May of 2012. The thrust of the topic is that there are safety issues in permitting unregulated hotels to exist for consumers and that there are further issues for other unit owners in allowing unscreened strangers to have access in and out of their condominium and cooperative buildings. There are also many arguments that transient guests in neighborhoods greatly reduce property values.

Its important to note that the decision distinguished the violated act from simply having "house guests or lawful boarders, roomers or lodgers" who stay for less than 30 days. The decision sets forth that house guests cannot be strangers who pay for occupancy and with respect to the other terms it looks to the definition of a common household in the Code as "A common household is deemed to exist if every member of the family has access to all parts of the dwelling unit. Lack of access to all parts of the dwelling unit establishes a rebuttable presumption that no common household exists".

So, NYC residents stop using Airbnb, it advertises your illegal rentals and gives the government great evidence if they wish to prosecute. To read the decision for yourselves, click here.