Page 2 - CooperatorNews NY February 2022

2 COOPERATORNEWS — FEBRUARY 2022 COOPERATORNEWS.COM responsibilities as a manager in a rental building are basically the same as they are in a condo building. The difference is that in a rental building, “I have one contact person—the landlord, whereas in a condo,” in which each unit is individually owned, “I often have multiple contact persons.” While having one contact person is clearly simpler than having dozens or even hundreds, the day-to-day operational and administrative tasks needed to keep a building or association running smoothly a condo or co-op community directly from don’t necessarily change with scale. the rental market, bringing their ‘tenant “Overall,” Wolf explains, “the nature of the mentality’ with them. This often leads to work remains the same.” Not My Job Of course, the average shareholder is responsible for what kinds of repairs, or unit owner is likely not well-versed in maintenance, and other property-related the legal distinctions between rental and tasks. owner-occupied multifamily properties. Indeed, despite it likely being the single HOA, often the unit owner must take biggest investment in their portfolio, most on responsibilities that would fall to the purchasers of co-op and condo apartments landlord in a rental setting. Wollman don’t take the time to read the governing breaks it down: “In both ownership documents of the building they’re moving structures, property owners and boards into. Additionally, many owners come into are responsible for maintenance of misunderstandings between residents and their board-management teams about who In the context of a co-op, condo, or the common elements. In rentals, all interior operations—including painting, plumbing, and appliances like garbage disposals, dishwashers, etc.— are the landlord’s responsibility. In a condominium or a co-op, unit owners and shareholders—not the association or corporation—are responsible for the unit interiors, including those internal components.” As with most things, there are exceptions to that general rule, in which division of responsibility can get a little blurry. One such case is original fixtures and components in co-ops. According to Wollman, “Typically in a co-op, the building is responsible for the floors, ceilings, and walls that are original to the building. So, if there’s damage to your parquet floor that was put down when the building was built, the corporation is responsible for repairing it. It’s like no-fault insurance—how the floor was damaged is unimportant. But if you renovated the unit and put in a new floor and that is damaged, you as the shareholder are responsible for its repair.” “As property managers, we often must communicate the difference between an individual shareholders’ or unit owners’ responsibility versus the corporation’s or association’s responsibility when conducting and paying for repairs,” says Anthony Colon, a management executive with AKAM management, which has offices in New York and Florida. “While repairs inside an apartment are typically the unit shareholder’s responsibility, there are nuances within each governing document that may provide further clarity. Situations can get complicated, especially with shared walls and pipes, and some residential communities have limited common areas, such as private patios on a shared rooftop, that can create further confusion when determining responsible parties. We must understand these differences to adequately explain and enforce the policies.” Tenant Mentality As mentioned previously, many condo and co-op owners are coming from years of living in rental units. Even after making the jump to ownership, they often equate their monthly fees or maintenance payment with ‘rent,’ and think of the board as their ‘landlord.’ They don’t understand what their responsibilities are as owners, and assume that the board should take care of everything in their apartment. For example, say a shareholder has a leak in their kitchen sink—but that sink features a $1,000 faucet, and the super doesn’t want to work on it for fear of damaging it. The shareholder may become angry and argue that they pay maintenance every month, and are therefore entitled to repairs—but that’s not how it works, says Wolf. To head off such conflicts, Colon says, BOARDS, MANAGERS... continued from page 1 continued on page 6