Page 8 - NY Cooperator June 2019

8 THE COOPERATOR —JUNE 2019 COOPERATOR.COM LAW & LEGISLATION Legal & Legislative Update 2019 How Will Your Community Be Affected? BY A J SIDRANSKY L aws, and the legal decisions that sup- port and enforce them, are constantly sion in more than one locale. Similarly, a for mold assessments and remediation ac- evolving and can affect every facet of statute may apply to a co-op or condo in tivities. community life in HOAs, condominiums one city and not in the neighboring one, re- and co-ops. While law and legal cases can sulting in different requirements literally a to assist the affected individuals,” he con- emanate from any of our three levels of gov- ernment – federal, state or local – most of the developments that affect housing come from the bottom up, with local and state nity law attorney with the New York-based tions for cooperative corporations when a law often defining or redefining what co- op, condo, HOA, and even owners of rental las: “Co-ops and condominiums are subject apartment, and does allow the cooperative housing may and may not do within the law. Much of the legislation and case law per- taining to housing derives from the federal the apartment corporation owns the build- Fair Housing Act, which was signed into ing and each shareholder lives in an apart- law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 ment via a proprietary lease, many laws are not breached) this new law will certainly re- around the time of the civil rights move- ment. The law exists primarily to protect buildings. For example, Local Law 55 of tigate whether it applies, and to take action against race-based discrimination in hous- ing, but it has gone on to represent and pro- mote a much broader range of principles. Aside from non-discrimination, housing fect as of January 19, 2019. It applies to all Buchel, mentions a new regulation in New law and legislation also deal with safety, eq- uity, and the ability of local governments to includes co-ops. This law requires the own- tax real estate owners. This type of legisla- tion and specific case law more than likely lergen hazards such as mold, mice and rats, “New York City recently amended the sec- originates at the local and state level. Often and cockroaches. When it comes to mold, tion of the administrative code governing as a result, individual statutes and cases ap- ply to specific localities. A decision handed form mold assessment, remediation and/ down in a New York court may not affect or abatement services to obtain appropri- communities in Massachusetts, though a ate training and proper licensing, and also similar case could result in a similar deci- few miles apart. Some Recent Examples According to Mark Hakim, a commu- firm Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg At- to more and more legislation affecting how to shift liability via agreement (which itself they govern. But in a cooperative, where may be problematic, since as ‘landlord’, the applicable that do not affect condominium quire managing agents and boards to inves- 2018, \[which addresses\] indoor asthma and when it does.” allergen hazards in residential dwellings, as well as pest management, went into ef- multiple dwelling property owners, which York City that directly relates to the Fair ers to investigate and remediate indoor al- the new law requires contractors who per- establishes new minimum work standards “This is certainly good news intended tinues, “but can place additional financial and other burdens on a cooperative corpo- ration. While the law does provide excep- shareholder and their family resides in the co-op corporation is nonetheless liable to ensure that the warranty of habitability is Marc Schneider, Managing Partner of the New York-based law firm of Schneider Housing Act as it has been interpreted to protect residents with disabilities. He says: reasonable accommodation, requiring a cooperative dialogue when dealing with a reasonable accommodation request.” Schneider explains that ‘cooperative dia- logue’ means the process by which an en- tity – in this case a co-op or a condo board – engages in a good-faith written or verbal dialogue to address a particular issue. “It is now unlawful to refuse or fail to engage in a cooperative dialogue with whomever re- quests accommodation. Not only can you not deny \[a reasonable request\], you must have a discussion about it with the person making the request.” This change has particular relevance to residents in buildings with policies that ex- clude certain types of pet ownership – par- ticularly dogs. In truth, it’s pretty easy to obtain a note from a doctor claiming a resi- dent has legitimate need for a ‘comfort ani- mal.’ Schneider explains that there is plenty of evidence of fraud in this area. What’s a board to do? “I have clients who have no-pet policies in their buildings,” says Schneider, “and they have to deal with these requests for comfort pets. The unfortunate part of the situation is that there is abuse – and the abuse will continue, unfortunately, because to prevent that abuse the law must be amended in such a manner that those people who truly have need are not penalized.” Upstate New York Hakim outlines another ordinance that co-op and condo owners in other jurisdic- tions should pay attention to, as something similar could someday be enacted in their locality. “Another example, which has not yet made its way to New York City, is a law passed in Westchester in December 2018 requiring Westchester co-op boards to ad- vise potential purchasers within 15 days of submission of their purchase application whether or not their application is com- plete. Once it is complete, \[boards\] now have 60 days to accept or reject the applica- tion. If an application is rejected, the board must send a notice of the rejection to the county’s human rights commission. “For co-op boards that fail to meet the 60-day threshold,” he continues, “a fine of $1,000 could be levied for their first offense; a second offense would involve a $1,500 fine, and the human rights commission would levy a fine of $2,000 for a third of- fense. It does not require the board to ar- ticulate any reason for the rejection, how- ever. Rockland County already has a similar law which states that in essence, a board is required to act within 45 days or an applica- ISTOCKPHOTO.COM