Logan R.D. Stagnitto, Esq.

September 5, 2019

A rise in the popularity of Airbnb and other short-term on-line marketing rental sites has allowed homeowners and renters to rent properties on a short-term basis and to reap significant financial rewards.  That financial reward has allowed cities who passed laws to accommodate short-term rentals to realize increased tax revenue.  While for most this has been a win-win situation, there has also been a downside to this growing trend.  The rise in short-term rentals has had both a negative and a positive impact, depending on which side of the issue you favor.  In general, the practice of short-term rental has increased the cost of rent and decreased the availability of residences to rent in urban cities on a long-term basis.  Those engaged in the short-term rental business have realized a revenue source that has proven very lucrative.  Landlords, on the other hand, have had to deal with the consequences of short-term rentals. 

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July 24, 2019

Navigating the subletting of rental apartments in New York can be a tricky business for Landlords and Tenants alike. This is especially true if the tenant is receiving subsidies or public housing assistance, and if the apartment is rent stabilized. Tenants and Landlords should be aware of the differences between subletting, assigning a lease, and having guests visit the apartment dwelling. This article is intended to provide some valuable information for Landlords and for Tenants who decide to sublease or to allow a sublease.

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July 24, 2019

Navigating the subletting of rental apartments in New York can be a tricky business for Landlords and Tenants alike. This is especially true if the tenant is receiving subsidies or public housing assistance, and if the apartment is rent stabilized. Tenants and Landlords should be aware of the differences between subletting, assigning a lease, and having guests visit the apartment dwelling. This article is intended to provide some valuable information for Landlords and for Tenants who decide to sublease or to allow a sublease.

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July 24, 2019

New Jersey Community Associations are required by law to have in place a Board of Directors or Trustees to oversee and governs their affairs. Generally, the Board may only consist of unit owners, who are members of the Association. Most often they serve as volunteers, and without pay or compensation. Board members are chosen by nomination and election. Although membership on the Board is voluntary, these elected members are obligated to act as fiduciaries to the membership and must, therefore, endeavor to avoid conflicts of interest.

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July 16, 2019

On April 29, 2019, Governor Murphy signed new legislation that will enhance and expand the lien priority for condominium associations.  It also, for the first time, gives a statutory right of the lien priority to homeowners associations. Prior to this, only condominiums in New Jersey were able to claim limited lien priority. Pursuant to the original statute, condominiums were afforded a six months of “aggregate customary assessments” following a mortgage lender’s Sheriff’s sale, so long as the association had a lien recorded prior to the mortgage lender’s initiation of the foreclosure process.

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July 16, 2019

The board of a homeowners association, cooperative, or a condominium association owes a fiduciary duty to its members to act in the best interest of the community as a whole. However, sometimes members have concerns over whether board members ignore this duty and act only with their own self-interests in mind. This is why state and local laws support and serve to enforce the governing documents that have been created for a community. The governing documents are created for each community and state the policies in place for that community. They allow for each member of the community to know the expected duties, procedures, and limitations of the board.

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