By Nathan Slovin, NJAA Executive Vice President
The National Multi Housing Council (NMHC), American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) and National Apartment Association (NAA), advocates for the apartment and senior housing industries, joined forces with other real estate organizations in filing a Petition for Review of an Order by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Washington, DC, seeking to overturn the November 20 FCC Order (98-273) that granted apartment residents the right to install an individual satellite dish or antenna on their balconies without the approval of the building owner/manager [see NYARM, November 1998, Legislative News, p 4]. The order is scheduled to take effect on January 22, 1999.
In prior rulings, the FCC has limited satellite and antenna placement rights to situations where the resident has a direct or indirect ownership interest in the property being occupied and leaseholders were required to obtain a property owner’s consent before installing such devices. Joining NMHC/ASHA/NAA in the suit are the Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA), Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), National Association of Realtors (NAR), and National Realty Committee (NRC).
At issue is whether the FCC has the authority to adopt the Order and whether the Order violates the Fifth Amendment. The real estate coalition’s petition claims that the FCC does not have the authority to allow a tenant to install an antenna or satellite dish without the consent of the building owner. The FCC has no general authority over building owners or the real estate industry as Congress did not intend for Section 207 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act to apply to leased property or to apply to services other than video programming.
In announcing the suit, NMHC/ASHA/NAA Vice President Jim Arbury stated that "the FCC not only overstepped its authority, but it also ignored basic safety guidelines. These satellite dishes can be dangerous, even lethal, if they are installed improperly or if they come loose in a storm. Installing a dish on the balcony of a high-rise apartment is quite different than installing a dish in the backyard of a private house. Because of those differences, this rule places the safety of apartment residents and their guests in jeopardy and raises a whole new specter of liability for property owners and operators."
For more information please contact
Kimberly Duty at the National Multi Housing Council, (202) 974-2333,
kduty@nmhc.org, www.nmhc.org
or the author at the NJAA office, 732-247-6661.