Brownstone Roof - Who Gets What?
Hi, I tried researching into this, but couldn’t find anything at all to go by. We have a roof that is a designated common area – there are 3 people/units in the brownstone building. We occupy the top two floors. I would like to build a roof deck on our 1/3 share of the roof…
Hi,
I tried researching into this, but couldn’t find anything at all to go by.
We have a roof that is a designated common area – there are 3 people/units in the brownstone building. We occupy the top two floors.
I would like to build a roof deck on our 1/3 share of the roof with stairs leading up from our top floor living room. Might be a mad idea (please feel free to tell me so if it is!).
It has a lovely view though, and whilst there is a fire escape fold down ladder in the hallway (which of course would stay), it would be nice to have something from indoors that we could use.
Now, the question I have is, how is the roof usually divided up with shared roof rights? What if we wanted to build a fence around our portion of the deck? The other unit owners never use the roof so I’m sure they wouldn’t mind. It is a non land marked property.
As always, thanks for the wonderful advice on this board.
Common area is pretty much what it says: an area that’s owned in common, as nyc_sport already mentioned. This doesn’t mean that you own a third that can be divided off from the rest. The Board would have to approve a subdivision, and more than likely you’d have to purchase your space and pay increased maintenance or common charges for it.
Thanks for the input. I did anticipate having to get in a structural engineer to figure out how much the building can withstand. Although, this is just going to be a rather small deck, not an encompassing roof job.
nyc_sport, would love to get some more input from you regarding what is involved (my email is kissiffer4@hotmail.com). It is a condo building, so not sure where that puts us with specifying our 1/3 of the roof!
Thanks again all.
Coop or condo? You need to review the coop/condo documents. In most cases, common space is not allocated to each owner, but you own an interest in all the common areas commensurate with your shareholdings (coop) or common interest (condo). So, you would need to amend these documents to legalize your ownership interest in a specific portion of the roof before investing in improvements.
Might be pricey.
Need a certificate of occupancy for the roof.
The roof desk is treated like a building extension by the DOB. That means architects, load-bearing tests, contractors, etc. etc.
Plus there are rules governing how much deck can take up a roof.
Good luck, you’ll need it.