New York Real Estate Question and Answer Rule, but No Law, on Carpeting Requirements Q What are the requirements for carpeting in a standard apartment rental lease? What does "80 percent carpeting" mean? Do area rugs satisfy the requirement? A Jeffrey R. Metz, a Manhattan real estate lawyer, says there are no legal requirements for carpeting in an apartment. "The "80 percent rule" has become something of a standard, even though there is no reference in the law to it," he said, adding that 80 percent rules are usually found in the main lease or house rules that accompany it. Precisely what counts on the rule varies with each document that creates it. Most typically, the rule excludes kitchens and bathrooms and requires carpeting of 80 percent of the rest of the floors in the apartment. In most cases, area rugs count toward the 80 percent. Mr. Metz notes that the rule is designed primarily to protect landlords and only indirectly to benefit other tenants. "For most violations of the rule," he said, "there is nearly nothing that another tenant can do about it if the landlord chooses not to act." If the lack of carpeting is creating a serious noise problem, he said, another tenant can try to have a violation issued by the New York City Department of Buildings. "But very few cases will rise to that level," he added. The only option left, he said, would be for the aggrieved tenant, "armed with an acoustical engineer's report," to file an action in State Supreme Court seeking an order requiring the tenant to stop making excessive noise. Subletting Policies That Differ Q I want to buy the co-op apartment that I have rented for the last 10 years. I have been informed by a member of the co-op board that it is considering instituting a policy that establishes different subletting rules for different shareholders. Under the new rule, shareholders who bought before 2012 would be allowed to sublet without restriction or sublet fees. Those who bought after that would be subject to subletting fees and allowed to sublet for only two years. Isn't there something wrong with treating shareholders differently depending on when they bought their apartments? A "The writer is correct in that there can only be one class of shares in a cooperative if it is going to be in compliance with Section 216 of the Internal Revenue Code," said Stuart M. Saft, a Manhattan lawyer and chairman of the Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums. That section, he said, allows shareholders to deduct their share of the corporation's real estate taxes and their own mortgage interest. Mr. Saft notes, however, that there is no rule that every shareholder be treated absolutely the same regardless of any other factor. "The board has the right to change the co-op's policies," he said, "as long as the change doesn't violate the law, the co-op's governing documents, and the board does not discriminate, act in bad faith or engage in self-dealing." While the board can adopt a policy limiting subletting by imposing a fee or a maximum time frame, Mr. Saft said, the rule would have to apply going forward - to current shareholders who try to sublet their apartments after the effective date of the new rule. Those who are currently subletting, on the other hand, can continue to sublease until the current sublet ends. No Entry for House-Sitter Q I live in a luxury building in New York City, and I travel quite frequently on business, sometimes for up to a week or two. Recently, I wanted to allow an out-of-town friend to house-sit while I was away. The building management company refused him entry. The only explanation provided was that it created "liability issues." I have a standard lease with no extraordinary provisions regarding guests or roommates. Can the management company do that? A Residential tenants are permitted to have guests and roommates under New York law, but leases typically prohibit "subleasing" without a landlord's consent, said Jarred I. Kassenoff, a Manhattan real estate lawyer. The question becomes whether the duration of the occupancy by the "house-sitter" constitutes an "illegal sublet" rather than the stay of a guest or roommate. "Given that the tenant only will be away for "up to" two weeks," Mr. Kassenoff said, "it is doubtful that the short-term nature of the arrangement would be sufficient to trigger an eviction." But as the landlord is permitted to establish reasonable security protocols for the safety of the residents, there may have been a good-faith basis to the owner's refusal to allow entry to the guest, who had not been preapproved. So the writer should try to get preapproval the next time he will have a house-sitter.