A lawsuit against a housing committee in a condominium building – when can it be filed?

A house committee in a shared building is responsible for the management of the shared building. The house committee's representative can file a lawsuit against a tenant (for example, in the case where a tenant does not pay the house committee fees - a payment that the tenant must pay even if he has claims against the house committee), but there are cases in which a tenant can also file a lawsuit against the house committee, and the reasons for this can be varied.

When planning to file a lawsuit against a home committee – who are you actually suing?

The house committee in a co-op building is usually made up of a tenant or several tenants who live in the same co-op building (in new, high-rise buildings, the role of the house committee is usually taken on by a management company that the tenants hire). The question arises as to whether, when a lawsuit is filed against a house committee, the tenant or tenants who are representatives of the house committee are actually sued?

התשובה לכך היא שלילית. במקרה שבו שוקלים להגיש תביעה נגד ועד בית תובעים את "נציגות הבית המשותף שכתובתו ____ בעיר _____".

There are cases in which it is possible and advisable to consider filing a personal claim against the representatives of the House Committee (separately or in the same claim against the House Committee – depending on the circumstances). These are usually cases in which a representative or representatives of the House Committee took some action personally, and not necessarily within the scope of their role as representatives of the House Committee, which caused the plaintiff damage. For example: if a representative of the House Committee distributed Defamatory remarks in the WhatsApp group of the building, there is no place to file a lawsuit against the Begin House Committee slander, but rather, a personal lawsuit should be filed against the person who spread the offensive statements.

Before filing a lawsuit against a homeowner's association, you should also understand exactly what you are suing for, because the nature of the relief sought will affect where the lawsuit is filed. For example: If you want to sue the homeowner's association for a tortious cause and demand financial compensation, it is probably not appropriate to file this lawsuit with The condominium supervisor Due to the issue of subject matter jurisdiction. In such a case, we should File the lawsuit with the Magistrate's Court.

Before filing a lawsuit against a homeowner's association, it is always a good idea to consider sending Warning letter before taking legal actionIn at least some cases, the house committee may correct the default and you may save a lot of time and a lot of money.

Lawsuit against a homeowner's committee for failure to repair damage to shared property

The house committee is responsible for the maintenance of the shared building. Sometimes, faults occur in the shared property which cause damage inside one of the apartments. A common situation is when there is a leak from a shared pipe which causes Moisture damage In one of the apartments. In this case, there are two options: A. If you know for sure that it is a shared pipeline, you can file a lawsuit against the house committee only. on. If you don't know that the plumbing is shared, you can file a lawsuit against the housing committee and also against the tenant whose plumbing is relevant to his apartment.

When in doubt about this, it is worth considering the second option.

A lawsuit against a house committee when there is a concern about theft of funds or financial irregularities

First, it is important to understand that the House Committee representative must deposit the funds it collects from the tenants into a designated account belonging to the House Committee. A situation in which House Committee representatives deposit the tenants' funds into their personal account is not a proper situation.

The Real Estate Law includes the regulations according to which tenants in a condominium must conduct themselves (assuming that the tenants of the condominium have not established other regulations for themselves). Regarding the issue of finances and reports to tenants regarding the spending and receipt of funds, it is determined In the regulations found, among other things, as follows:

16. (א) The treasurer shall receive an account for every expense, shall submit a receipt for every income, and shall keep a register of income and expenses; the treasurer shall submit the register for approval to the ordinary general meeting, and shall also bring with him the accounts and receipts he has received, copies of the receipts he has submitted, and the documents relating to them.

(b) The treasurer shall prepare a financial report every six months; the report shall also include details of the investments of the accumulated income.

(c) An apartment owner may at any reasonable time inspect the income and expenditure register, the accounts, receipts and documents relating to them, and the financial statements.

(ד) The treasurer will deposit the income into a bank account in the name of the condominium.

As you can see, these provisions establish the obligation of the condominium representative to appoint a treasurer who will detail to the tenants of the condominium the expenses and income relevant to the condominium. Any apartment owner is entitled to review the income and expense register. If the tenants are not entitled to receive the details of the income and expenses or if there is a discrepancy between them in significant amounts, it is certainly possible to consider filing a lawsuit against the housing committee.

Lawsuit against a housing committee for a decision made at a tenants' meeting in violation of the law

The House Committee is not a body that can decide on its own decisions that affect the rights of the tenants, but the relevant matter must pass a vote and agreement of the tenants. There are issues that require the agreement of the majority of the tenants and there are a number of issues stipulated in the current regulations that require the agreement of at least sixty percent of the apartments.

A lawsuit can be filed against a house committee when it acts in violation of these provisions and demand a declaratory order stating that the decision was made in violation of the law and that it is void.

Adjustments that require the consent of the majority of apartment owners

1. Adjusting an opening or entrance gate to the yard of the house, while changing the structure of the opening or gate, its shape or dimensions, such as removing the gate lock, eliminating a gate, widening an opening and installing a gate.

2. Adjusting an entrance door or entrance opening to the condominium, while changing the structure of the door or opening, their shape or dimensions, such as removing the door lock, eliminating a door or widening an opening and installing a door.

3. Opening an additional entrance or gate to the courtyard of the condominium or to the house itself.

4. Widening an existing access road.

5. Changing the route of an existing access road, including paving a new road.

6. Demolition of fences, and construction of a fence, and a protective fence, or installation of safety arrangements for an existing access, not included in Item 4 in Part A of this Appendix, for the purpose of preventing injury from vehicles or equipment, falling, rolling of a wheelchair, or for the purpose of guiding a visually impaired person.

7. Installation of a manual lifting device not included in Item 5 in Part A of this Appendix, or an electric, mechanical, electronic, hydraulic or other lifting device, between levels, including a ramp and a top, but excluding an elevator as stated in Section 59F of the Law, provided that a local planning and building committee engineer has confirmed that the installation as stated does not prevent the other apartment owners from using the common property in a reasonable and safe manner.

8. Replacing flooring.

9. Cancellation of existing stairs, modification of stairs and construction of entrance stairs to the condominium.

Adjustments requiring the consent of the apartment owners who own sixty percent of the apartments

1. Preparing a space as a parking space.

2. Uniqueness or allocation of an existing parking space.

How do you file a lawsuit against a housing committee if there is actually no housing committee in the condominium building?

Examples can be found of houses in which there is no active house committee. These are usually very old houses or houses where a very weak population lives. In such cases, it is difficult to file a lawsuit against a house committee because the house committee simply does not exist. In these cases, if damage is caused to the common property that creates a nuisance in one of the apartments, there is no choice but to file a lawsuit against all the apartment owners.

Please note – in these cases, you need to produce a taboo document and make sure that you are suing the apartment owners and not the apartment tenants.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding a Lawsuit Against a House Committee