Q: I consider I’m dealing with retaliation from my Manhattan co-op board. In 2018 the constructing supervisor was alleged to right an error on my account however she by no means eliminated the unreasonable late charges and has since added extra. Administration used a few of my upkeep funds to pay these late charges as a substitute of making use of them to my month-to-month bills. I utilized for a co-op board seat, however inside days I acquired “treatment notices” to “eviction” primarily based on these false allegations. The board did not file their paperwork accurately the primary time, however they re-filed it in housing court docket. What ought to I do subsequent?
A: You have to reply to cure notices well timed and dispute the debt by following the process outlined in your cooperative’s governing paperwork. Embody proof of the account error in addition to any related communications you could have had together with your constructing administration board or managing agent.
If you cannot show that you simply instructed the co-op to use your month-to-month funds to your common upkeep charges and never these different charges, you could not be capable to dispute how the co-op’s billing employees allotted the funds, he stated. Lenny Morrison Cumminschair of the condominium and cooperative observe at Cozen O’Connor. You probably have documentation displaying that you simply needed your funds utilized to your month-to-month charges, embrace that proof while you reply to the board.
If the monetary dispute goes to court docket, the burden of proof will probably be on the co-op to show it is charging you accurately, Ms Cummins stated. You’ll have the chance to answer the cooperative’s claims and supply proof of the errors. Should you win, the co-op could also be required to pay your authorized charges. If not, you might have to pay the constructing’s authorized charges.
“Earlier than this escalates to litigation, each you and the co-op might want to fastidiously evaluation your data to substantiate the energy of every place,” Ms Cummins stated.
You might be proper that the board is retaliating in opposition to you, however proving it may be tough. What proof do you could have? Do you know that different shareholders in the same scenario had been handled otherwise?
“It’s potential that the timing of the co-op’s authorized motion, coinciding with the shareholder’s candidacy for the board of administrators, is coincidental,” stated Joseph Colbertactual property lawyer at Colbert Regulation, LLC.
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