Page 5 - CooperatorNews NY April 2021

COOPERATORNEWS.COM COOPERATORNEWS — APRIL 2021 5 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Legal Q A& Proxy Abuse? Q We have a president of our co- op board that has been presi- dent for almost 30 years because he collects proxies from the shareholders who will not attend the yearly meeting and uses them to either reelect himself or others that side with his thinking on the operation of the building. Our building is now going down the tubes. How can we stop this process? —Frustrated Shareholder A “Th e simple answer to the question is ‘organize,’” says Phyllis Weisberg, an attor- ney with Armstrong Teasdale in New York City. “Meet with other shareholders to see if they agree with your viewpoint; off er to run for the board; and collect proxies for your preferred candidates. Note that noth- ing prevents any shareholder from collect- ing proxies, nor must a shareholder use the same form of proxy as the board.” Should a Shareholder Pay for a Long- Staying Guest? Q Can a co-op charge the share- holder a fee if they have guests at the apartment or an illegal short-term for long periods of time? Can we rental through Airbnb or similar websites. ask for photo IDs? —Reluctant Host A “A ‘long period of time’ may be shorter than you think,” says attorney Marijana Pre- dovan of the Manhattan fi rm Armstrong Teasdale. “Most proprietary leases pro- vide that shareholders may have guests stay with them for up to one month, un- less the shareholder obtains written con- sent from the board of directors autho- rizing the guest to remain longer. Boards should keep in mind that the guest cannot stay alone in the shareholder’s apartment. Typically, a proprietary lease (‘Lease’) will provide that the guest may not occupy the apartment unless the shareholder or one of the permitted adult residents is also in occupancy; i.e., the permitted resident and guest must stay in the apartment at the same time. In some cases, the Lease will identify the permitted residents—typically the shareholder’s spouse and children, sometimes others such as grandchildren, parents, grandparents, brothers, and sis- ters. “Th e ability to charge a fee to a share- holder if their guests remain over a month without the board’s authorization depends on whether the Lease empowers the board to impose fi nes. If the Lease contains lan- guage authorizing the board to fi ne share- holders, the board can pass a House Rule that establishes a schedule of fi nes for vio- lations. Th e board might decide that the fi rst violation will result in a warning from management and that subsequent viola- tions will result in fi nes. Repeat violations can result in higher fi nes, which will ac- cumulate until the unauthorized guest va- cates the apartment. If the Lease does not authorize the board to impose fi nes, the only way to do so would be to amend the proprietary lease, which usually requires the affi rmative vote of two-thirds or three- quarters of the shareholders at a special meeting. “Requiring identifi cation for guests is a diff erent story. Th e board has the authority to pass a House Rule requiring that share- holders announce their guests in advance and the doorman can ask for the visitor’s identifi cation in order to confi rm each guest’s identity. “If a board receives a complaint about a shareholder’s guests, we recommend that the board ask the doorman and/or superintendent to be on the lookout for visitors to the shareholder’s apartment. Th ere could be an unauthorized sublet Boards should contact their legal counsel to determine their recourse in the event of illegal sublets.” Getting Hassled over Revising My Proprietary Lease Q I’m trying to get my wife’s name added to my proprietary lease of my co-op. Th e manager is saying that it’ll cost me $600 to do so (!) and an additional fee of $150 to have an affi davit signed for a lost stock certifi cate. (Note: my bank, Santander, claims that they turned over the original proprietary lease as well as the stock certifi cate to me at closing. Halstead, the manager of my co- op, keeps saying that this is impossible as the bank needs to hold the lease and stock certifi cate as collateral until my mortgage is totally paid up.) Th ough I could locate the original lease and did also fi nd the green-bordered stock certifi cate with the co-op board president’s signature, since it doesn’t have a raised seal, the building manager is claiming it’s not an original and thus the fee for the duplicate/ affi davit. Note: Seven years ago I handed the same continued on page 5 “FirstService Residential has been our managing agent for decades. The knowledge and experience each individual brings to the table is priceless. Whether finance, day-to-day problems, or getting through a big capital project, the team shows up with great ideas, information and solutions. Our managing agent’s leadership, coupled with the rest of our FirstService Residential team, makes our staff and our board function better. I can’t say enough about being under the FirstService Residential umbrella.” >> Board President, The Fairmont www.fsresidential.com/new-york LetsTalk.NY@fsresidential.com 212.324.9944 New York’s Property Management Leader Making a Difference. Every Day. continued on page 14