Publish Date: November 18, 2010
Q: When we asked our co-op managing agent for a copy of the co-op bylaws, he said that we could review them in the office but that he would not distribute them. Do we have a right to our own copy?
A: “Co-op shareholders have limited rights to review or receive copies of corporate records and documents,” said Stephen M. Lasser, a Manhattan co-op and condo lawyer. “But there is no legal requirement that copies of bylaws be provided to shareholders.” Mr. Lasser says the only corporate record that a co-op is required to provide to shareholders is the annual financial statement. In most co-ops the managing agent will give shareholders copies of bylaws on request. Or the writer could try asking a member of the co-op’s board of directors for a copy. He notes that the buyer’s lawyer usually gets a copy of the bylaws when a co-op is bought, and might still have the copy on hand. Mr. Lasser added, however, that getting a current copy might be best, because the bylaws may have been amended since the writer bought the apartment. Download PDF
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