Forum
« exposed back garden advice Is This Wood Worth Re-Finishing? »
August 28, 2007
Legal responsibility to whole coop when one member renovates
When one coop member moved in, they made renovations that resulted in the rest of the members having to pay for a new gas line. There were a number of other expenses and inconviences including no gas stove for 6 weeks, etc. Now the same tenant wants to renovate again. the rest of the members (4 floors) are saying that they must agree to pay any additional expenses that result from their work since we don't want to get burned again. At first they said okay, they understood, then they said no. My take is that if I do renovations and my renovations upset that delicate balance of ok/not okay that exists in all these old buildings, then it is my problem, not one to be paid for by the other members. It doesn't seem fair that I would get a nice new renovation and the coop members get a big fat bill. Any thoughts?
mhughu
Comments
Surely your co-op's bylaws/house rules address this. The shareholders who renovated should be obligated to pay for any damage incurred, or their contractor, who presumably is bonded/insured.
Posted by: guest at August 28, 2007 7:00 PM
This shouldn't even be a question. Of course, if they want to do work that requires an overall building upgrade, they should pay for it (at least temprarily).
What could be a very feasible alternative for them is what I had one client suggest to their board. Let's say for example they want to increase the power to their apartment, so they need to upgrade the line from Con Ed and it costs $20,000. An addendum could be added to the By-laws that states that every additional tenant who wishes to increase the size of their electrical panel (up to the next four individuals) must pay the tenant (who paid to upgrade the Con Ed line) $4,000 each. This way it makes their contribution only $4,000 and spreads it out to the next recent people who want to renovate. It makes complete sense and if the board is reasonable, I don't see why that should be an issue. You'll have to be very careful about the conditions, but someone should pay for the upgrade, and it shouldn't be all the people who will not be utilizing it.
By the way, if the board wants that condition, and they don't agree, just don't let them renovate and make sure someone is always watching their door for construction deliveries and debris. Fine them every day if they break the rules.
Posted by: spanishfish at August 28, 2007 9:58 PM
Let's remember that there are two sides to every story. When I renovated my kitchen, the removal of the walls exposed a serious structural problem that was unfortunately the building's responsibillity. I hated having to go to everyone. It wasn't cheap to fix.
Posted by: guest at August 29, 2007 4:38 PM
An outside agent should evaluate the situation if it is sketchy whose fault the problem is.
Posted by: guest at August 29, 2007 6:34 PM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.