Q: I am a shareholder in a cooperation in Northern Manhattan. New neighbors have moved in and smoke all day marijuana, starting early in the morning. The smell is very strong, penetrates the corridors and drives into my unit, which is located in the hallway and around the corner. I know that you have the right to smoke in your apartment, but the smell is difficult to tolerate, and I'm worried about the impact on my ability to finally sell my shares. I think I should write you a letter and ask you to ventilate your apartment and use an air filter. What should I do if you don't answer?
A: You can certainly write a letter to your neighbors and ask you to better ventilate your unit. But that may not solve the problem.
Even if you agree to use an air purifier or take other steps, smells can travel. It often depends on age, the structure of a building and the functioning of the air numbers.
You can try to protect your apartment by adding Weather Strapiping to your door and using a stopper in the undertid, said Mark Foley, President of Folson Group, a management consultant for condominiums and co-op buildings. You could also offer these things for your neighbors' door, he said. Just make sure that your approach is friendly while you know that your weed smoke penetrates your apartment.
If none of this works, you have your right to bring the problem to your managing director and the co-op board, said Debra Guzov, a real estate lawyer in Manhattan. Take a look at your proprietary lease, house rules and statutes to see what you say about smoking and smells. Even co-ops without smoke restrictions have disturbing clauses that ban conditions that affect the calm joy of the other shareholders on their houses.
As soon as you have found the correct provision in your government documents, look for neighbors with the same concerns and contact the board together. You want to avoid litigation that are time -consuming and expensive. So press the board to follow your own rules.
“Coop boards are responsible for maintaining the building in a way that protects the shareholders' investments and allowing smoke that they cannot be exaggerated, the management of the building could hardly reflect,” said Ms. Guzov. “It's okay.”
For weekly E -Mail updates for real estate messages in residential buildings, register here.