Withholding Maintenance Over a Noisy Neighbor Q. A shareholder in our co-op is having a problem with an upstairs neighbor whom he accuses of constantly makes disturbing noises. He asked the co-op board to solve the problem, but the board has gotten nowhere. The shareholder has now started putting his maintenance payments into an escrow account he opened, and has sued the board for not resolving the problem. The board has been told it can seize the escrow payments. Is this correct? A. "The simple answer is that the board cannot seize anything without a court order," said Stuart M. Saft, a Manhattan lawyer who is the chairman of the Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums. Mr. Saft said that while a co-op board has a great deal of discretion over the operation of the property, the seizure of a shareholder's bank account, no matter what it's called, would require a court order. An account with an actual escrow agreement, he noted, would be signed by the shareholder, the co-op corporation, and an "escrow agent" who would have control over the money, and the parties would have to abide by its terms. "But that does not seem to be the case here," he said. Mr. Saft says the board can start a nonpayment proceeding in court against the shareholder on the lower floor for not paying his maintenance, and an "objectionable conduct action" against the shareholder on the upper floor for violating the corporation's house rules regarding noise. That's Why There Are Minutes Q. When a co-op board holds one of its meetings, can a board member divulge to shareholders the conversations and opinions of those present at the meeting? For instance, can a board member tell shareholders how other members voted on a particular issue? A. Jeffrey Reich, a Manhattan lawyer co-op and condominium lawyer, said that while there is no law that prohibits a board member from divulging issues raised at a meeting, including how other members voted, the board member's fiduciary responsibility may discourage disclosure of such information to shareholders. "The first duty of a board member must be loyalty to the corporation and to the shareholders collectively," Mr. Reich said. And creating an atmosphere of cooperation and confidentiality at board meetings - so that members feel free to share their views and opinions, and even change them over the course of a discussion - generally benefits the co-op as a whole. "Having each board member concerned that he or she may have to defend every statement made or position taken could stifle the free flow of ideas in the decision-making process," he said. And that would not be in the best interest of the building. In most cases, Mr. Reich said, boards agree on what information is disseminated to the shareholders by adopting the minutes of the board meetings, which shareholders do have access to. He notes that some boards have addressed the issue of confidentiality by having shareholders approve a bylaw amendment to impose a confidentiality policy. The Long Eviction Process Q. When I signed my lease, I also signed a rider stating that when the lease expires I become a month-to-month tenant. Now, a little more than two weeks before my lease is set to expire, my landlord wants me to sign a lease for another year. I have no desire to commit myself for another year as I have been looking to buy an apartment. If I don't sign the lease, how long will it take for the landlord to evict me? A. Months. Adam Leitman Bailey, a Manhattan real estate lawyer, said that if the landlord does not accept rent after the termination of the lease, he can start an eviction action immediately in the New York City Civil Court. If the landlord accepts rent after the expiration of the lease, he is required to serve the tenant with a 30-day notice terminating the tenancy, which would be effective on the last day of the ensuing calendar month. If the tenant does not move on the date specified in the notice, the landlord can then start an eviction proceeding. In either case, he said, even if the landlord has made no mistakes that would delay the action, it is unlikely that the case would be heard for at least a month or two. "And if there are flaws in any portion of the proceeding," Mr. Bailey added, "the landlord would have to start the case from scratch." But even without flaws in the proceeding, there may be more than one court appearance required, and if the court ultimately orders the eviction of the tenant, it is likely to allow at least two months for the tenant to find a new apartment. "Taking all these factors into consideration, it could be the thick of winter before the writer has to move," Mr. Bailey said.