Roof/Lintels Leaks in a Coop
Hi everyone, I’m at my wit’s end, hope you can help me with advice. I live in a coop which has been experiencing leaks for the past 10+ yrs, and has taken random and little action to solve those. The leaks in my apt have been less severe than the leaks in the other 2…
Hi everyone,
I’m at my wit’s end, hope you can help me with advice. I live in a coop which has been experiencing leaks for the past 10+ yrs, and has taken random and little action to solve those. The leaks in my apt have been less severe than the leaks in the other 2 apts which is why the coop has tried to address those first. But by now, the leaks in my place have deteriorated significantly, and the coop tells me that there is no money to fix my leaks. Needless to say, this response is not satisfactory, and my discussion with the board has been very contentious and gotten nowhere. What are my next steps? Do you have a recommendation for a lawyer if it gets to that point (though obviously I’d rather get the leaks fixed and not sue the coop)? Thanks very much!
theklay, you must be a slip and fall lawyer… seriously. If you are one at all.
First, he said it’s not only the roof, but the lintels.
Second, if he just goes up to the roof with some random contractor (assuming he has access at all) the coop may fine him or sue him for unauthorized work. Do you think the coop board in a normal coop will allow a shareholder to ‘fix’ common elements?
Third, if you think ‘new tar’ will solve the problem, you definitely need to stick, narrowly, to the practice of law, and stay miles away from the practice of engineering.
Dave: I am a lawyer. I think self-help and cooperating with others is always going to be a better option than hiring an expensive coop lawyer who will charge you with no guarantees of getting the leaks fixed by the coop. If there’s no money (and no reserve money), the coop will have to charge an assessment or increase the maintenance to get the roof redone. If a coop lawyer gets involved, someone (either the owner or the coop) is going to have to pay more in attorneys fees. Why would you pay money to a lawyer when you can probably resolve this yourself? Ultimately, this is going to cost the coop owner money – in the form of trying to get a portion of the roof retarred/re-silver coated on their own, or in the form of an assessment imposed by the coop to redo the roof, or in the form of attorneys fees. Why not spend the money on something that will most immediately solve the problem? It seems that it’s better to work with the coop, and try to do as much on your own as possible before you hire a lawyer.
Second DIBS and Denton.
Don’t take theklahy’s advice. Get a lawyer.
Why don’t you just hire a roofer to put new tar on the roof (if he can identify where it is) and then deduct the costs from the amount of maintenance that you pay the coop? Every month you can submit a copy of the bill that you paid to the roofer to the coop management company as proof of the monthly amount… That’s what you would do if it were a normal landlord/tenant situation, no?
It’s up to the coop to get the money, via reserve fund or assessment. You are a tenant under a proprietary lease, and the coop has to abide by warrant of habitability just like any landlord.
I like Wolff Halderstein as a coop atty on Madison, altho the spelling might be off.