Condo house rules

When sponsors set up new condominiums, they use boiler plate form documents, including those used for house rules. House rules are the general rules regarding how the condominium will be run so that everyone lives in harmony. They typically have provisions saying that bicycles cannot be left in the hallways and notice must be given before any moves. However, once the condominium becomes active, they usually find that the house rules they were given are too basic and they need more and stricter rules. Thus, it is common for the board of managers to retain legal counsel to redraft them. I find when I work on redrafting these documents, it is a collaboration between me suggesting topics and ways of handling issues and the board advising me of issues of particular concern to them. Certain topics are so controversial that a balance must be struck in handling the issues to try to avoid litigation going forward. Topics with that kind of potential usually involve pets and fines for various failures to follow rules. Aggressive barking dogs can be a real issue in some buildings with unit owners in fear for their lives. Some buildings try to create rules and others impose bans on certain topics. Renovations can be controversial since people buy into condominiums because they think they will have fewer rules. However, as problems arise, many condominiums find themselves enacting rules more and more like those in co-ops. Some buildings have so many subtenants in them that they have no sense of community. Sometimes when the unit owners do not pay common charges, they have difficulty contacting the actual unit owners. Drafting new house rules is a process that involves a team. C. Jaye Berger, Esq., is the principal of Law Offices C. Jaye Berger, New York, N.Y.