Guidance Regarding Residents' Visitors

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As New York City advances through the four phases of Governor Cuomo’s New York Forward reopening plan, many co-op and condo boards and managing agents may choose to revise building rules and regulations implemented earlier in the pandemic. With New York City in phase three as of July 6, 2020, a particular challenge many buildings are grappling with is how to manage residents’ visitors, including guests, nannies, housekeepers, care givers, dog walkers, and delivery persons (i.e., food, newspaper and pharmacy), seeking entry into the building. It’s a balancing act of trying to prevent the virus from entering and spreading while at the same time accommodating the needs and wishes of residents to have visitors. Because every building’s governing documents and resident community is unique, before changing rules and regulations regarding visitors, co-op and condo boards and managing agents should consult with counsel about their building’s individual circumstances.

In addition to having building staff continue to ensure that all visitors are wearing a face-covering over their nose and mouth and sanitizing their hands in the lobby, buildings may consider putting procedures in place to screen residents’ visitors as an added measure to protect the health and safety of residents and staff.

Buildings choosing to screen visitors may require daily health screening assessments that ask visitors to answer in writing yes/no questions about (1) COVID-19 symptoms in the past 14 days, (2) positive COVID-19 test in the past 14 days, and (3) close contact with anyone confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19 in the past 14 days, and certify that their answers are truthful and accurate. The assessments also may ask visitors to provide their name, telephone number and e-mail address for contact tracing purposes.

In some co-ops and condos requiring assessments, building staff are being tasked with providing the forms to visitors upon entering the lobby, and are being instructed to deny entry to any visitors who appear ill, answer yes to any of the questions, or refuse to complete and sign the assessment form. In other co-ops and condos requiring assessments, residents are being given sample assessment forms and are being charged with conducting daily screenings of their own visitors. In either case, clear instructions should be provided to those administering the assessments to ensure consistency. Also, guidance should be given as to how long to retain completed assessments to aid contact tracing.

Other co-ops and condos are not requiring daily screenings of residents’ visitors at all, leaving it up to the residents to decide if and how to screen their own visitors. In those co-ops and condos, residents should ask their personal attorneys whether they are required to perform daily screenings of the visitors they employ or invite into their apartments, like nannies, housekeepers, care givers and dog walkers.

With respect to contractors, real estate brokers and managing agents, New York State guidelines require employers in those industries to screen their own employees. Co-op and condo buildings should require all contractors, real estate brokers and managing agents seeking entry to provide proof from their employers that they are being screened (i.e., a copy of their employer’s NY Forward Business Re-Opening Safety Plan or a written and signed certification from the employer confirming that they are being screened). If any contractors, real estate brokers or managing agents are unable to furnish written proof of screenings by their employers, buildings should consider denying them entry or having staff or residents screen them, as applicable.

Boards and managing agents should review with counsel their buildings’ governing documents (for co­ops, the proprietary lease, by-laws and house rules; for condos, the declaration, by-laws and rules and regulations) to confirm that any procedures they put in place regarding residents’ visitors are authorized by and conform with the governing documents. It may be necessary for boards to adopt new rules and regulations for screening visitors and enforcing visitor-related rules and regulations, including the possible imposition of monetary fines against shareholders/unit owners who do not comply.

Also, boards and managing agents should consult with counsel as to whether their co-op/condo may be liable in the event a resident’s visitor has COVID-19 and infects others in the building. Some co-op proprietary leases provide that residents (and not the co-op) are liable for personal injuries caused by their visitors. Other co-op proprietary leases and many condo by-laws do not address these liability concerns as clearly and, as such, may need to be amended to better protect the co-op/condo.