house rules Archives

Jan 18, 2019

Nuisance on Central Park West

A Central Park West condominium sued the owner of a first-floor unit and her son for breach of contract and nuisance. The Board wanted to enjoin them from smoking marijuana and making excessive noise in their unit. At the outset, the Supreme Court issued a preliminary injunction that prohibited defendants from smoking marijuana and permitting marijuana smoke and excessively loud noises from infiltrating into the common areas and other units of the condominium. And several months later the Court addressed the application for a permanent injunction. The by-laws prohibited nuisance within the condominium property, as well as improper, offensive, or unlawful… Read more

Aug 25, 2009

Authority to Impose Fines

We have been asked from time to time by cooperative (“coop”) and condominium boards about their ability to impose fines to ensure compliance with house rules. While the fines that boards seek to impose are generally small, boards occasionally seek to charge considerable sums for repeated or continuing infractions. You should be aware, however, that regardless of the amount, the legality of fines or penalty fees may be subject to question. Courts have determined that the New York Condominium Act authorizes a condominium board to impose fines. See Sweetman v. Board of Managers of Plymouth Village Condominium, 1998 WL 112655… Read more