Q: I don’t live in New York, but I’m interested in buying a one-bedroom co-op in Manhattan so I can visit my son in Brooklyn or use for vacations. I’d also like to let relatives or very close friends stay there occasionally when I’m not around. I know that some co-ops allow, while others do not. But how do I find out without leading the co-op board to falsely believe that I would turn it into a short-term rental? When I ask listing agent if visitors can stay in the unit when the owner isn’t there, they quickly tell me that it’s better not to ask. How can I find out without tanking my application?
A: There is a way to get an answer without alerting a co-op board to your intentions, but you need to be cautious and do your due diligence.
Make sure that your desire to use the apartment as an occasional home is permitted in the co-op’s proprietary lease and the house rules. You can ask your broker to get the governing documents from the seller’s broker. Once you establish that it is allowed, look to see what the rules are about guests. Who is allowed to stay? And can they be there when you are not?
“If you see pieds-à-terre are allowed, and there aren’t any restrictions, don’t ask the board if there are restrictions,” said Lisa Chajet, a broker at Coldwell Banker Warburg, who specializes in co-ops. “It’s nothing a buyer brings up to a board under any circumstances.”
But this might be tough to find, said Andrew B. Freedland, who practices condominium and cooperative law at Herrick. The law firm represents many co-ops in Manhattan.
“I can tell you that the overwhelming majority of them would not be OK with various relatives coming in and out of an apartment when the lessee is not there,” Mr. Freedland said. “I would be very cautious about this sort of setup.”
In many buildings, rules against overnight guests were put in place long before the city passed Local Law 18 restricting short-term rentals in 2023. This means that even if there is no short-term written agreement with your guests, and even if no money is changing hands, lending your apartment to them would still be against the building’s rules.
You might consider a condominium instead. The rules might be more flexible when it comes to overnight guests when you aren’t there, Mr. Freedland said. A knowledgeable real estate agent or broker could help you find the right building.
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