Page 10 - CooperatorNews Chicagoland Fall 2021

10 COOPERATORNEWS CHICAGOLAND
—FALL 2021
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the DOB when those conditions are cor-
rected. There are provisions in the law pensive if violations are not rectified. If
that allow for extending the cure period, there’s a safety violation, the owner must
and in 2020, the DOB enacted more com-
prehensive façade examinations, cavity Affairs (DCA) that it’s been corrected.
wall probes, reporting requirements, and After corrections are made, the DCA will
increased civil penalties for noncompli-
ance, among other updates.
Greenstein says that to be clear, there to rectify an imminent life safety issue,
are provisions in the bylaws of condo-
miniums, the proprietary leases of co-
operatives, the New York City Housing ture, the building must be vacated.
Maintenance Code, and the New York
State Multiple Dwelling Law that do re-
quire landlords and board members to around exterior and interior building in-
maintain
their
buildings.
There
are laws which re-
quire, among other
things, inspections
for elevator safety
and
sprinklers,
in addition to the
provision require-
ments under Local
Law 11.
Hakim
adds
that under Local
Law 11, “if there
are unsafe condi-
tions, owners are
required to report
them immediately
and repair them—
usually within 30 days if possible. As of their homes and loved ones—but in the
August 2018, New York State passed a law meantime, boards, managers, and resi-
mandating garage inspections every three dents alike must educate themselves and
years, providing a blueprint to New York be proactive when it comes to keeping
City for its new rules anticipated to go their own properties safe and structurally
into effect on January 1, 2022. Those new sound.
rules, similar to Local Law 11 for façades,
will mandate periodic inspections and
classifications, and will include reporting
requirements and repair obligations for
any garage deemed unsafe. In addition, a
stability analysis showing that the struc-
ture is stable under anticipated loads will
be required.”
New Jersey
John Prisco, an attorney and share-
holder at Stark & Stark in Lawrenceville,
New Jersey, explains that in New Jersey
there is a statute known as The Hotel
and Multiple Dwelling Act which is sepa-
rate from the New Jersey Condominium
Act. According to him, “That Hotel and
Multiple Dwelling Act does require spe-
cific inspections and includes co-ops and
condominiums. Inspections are required
every five years, starting from comple-
tion of construction and issuance of a
certificate of occupancy, and then every
five years thereafter. Generally, the entity
performing the inspections is monitored
under the Commissioner of Community
Affairs. Inspections and inspectors can
be delegated down to the municipal level.
Local inspectors must comply with the
New Jersey State Department of Commu-
nity Affairs requirements.”
Prisco explains that there is a tiered
penalty scheme that can become very ex-
inform the Department of Community
reinspect. If the building owner—be that a
landlord or a condo or co-op board—fails
they could be looking at a $5,000-per-day
fine. If there is a notice of unsafe struc-
While this is by no means an exhaus-
tive account of the rules and regulations
spections, one thing is
clear: in the absence of
a uniform, nationwide
standard, it’s incum-
bent on boards and
managers to stay on
top of inspection cy-
cles and maintenance
of their properties. The
investigation into the
collapse of the Surfside
condo is ongoing and
will likely take years to
complete. Understand-
ing its causes, and any
allocation of responsi-
bility for the disaster,
may bring some clo-
sure to those who lost
n
A J Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for
CooperatorNews, and a published novelist.
STRUCTURAL...
continued from page 8
“Generally, regulation
of structural and aesthetic
conditions of a building
falls to individual
municipalities and is
accomplished through
local building codes and
other ordinances.
”
—Kris Kasten
minium Property Act, the association is
responsible for handling the maintenance
of this particular heating system compo-
nent,” says Scott A. Rosenlund, founding
shareholder of Rosenlund Legal, P.C., in
Chicago. “In many instances, unit own-
ers are responsible for—or perhaps have
the option of individually maintaining—
heating system components exclusively
serving their units. Based on the asso-
ciation’s past practices, this analysis will
presume classification of the component
as a common element and association
responsibility for upkeep of the compo-
nent.
“Under Section 18.4 of the Illinois
Condominium Property Act, a condo-
minium board has a fiduciary duty to
reasonably provide for the proper main-
Q&A
continued from page 5