Articles

It’s important for members in your community to feel safe. After all, one of the draws of many associations is security. It’s common for communities to have security personnel or, at the least, take practical measures to mitigate crime like installing adequate lighting in common areas and gates at entrances that only members can open. Nevertheless, petty and serious crimes have been reported in planned communities and condominium buildings. This can shake the confidence of members.

An Arizona realtor has had to confront a homeowners association for disposing of his “open house” signs advertising properties he has listed for sale in the community. After discovering a worker from the association’s landscaping company driving away with the signs that had apparently been slated for the garbage, the realtor took video footage of their conversation during which the landscaper cited rules that the signs must comply with.

Association fees are an integral part of keeping a planned community or condominium building running smoothly. They’re key to paying bills for routine services and amenities and, in some communities, can contribute to additional bonuses for members, like social events. But when members don’t pay their association fees it can very negatively affect the community. Even if a few members don’t pay their assessments on time, an association can face serious financial problems.

Setting a code of conduct for board members who are campaigning and asking all board candidates to pledge to follow it may reduce negativity, but remember that you shouldn’t try to require candidates to sign it. An association board has no authority to impose requirements for board candidates other than being in good standing, such as agreeing to a set of campaign standards. If you try to force candidates to sign the pledge or you disqualify candidates who refuse to sign the pledge, you may leave the association vulnerable to a lawsuit and maybe even liability.

It’s important to make sure that your governing documents spell out exactly the expectations for members—especially when it comes to financial responsibilities. An association prevailed in a recent case in Pennsylvania because its covenants specified what owners were obligated to pay for. When a homeowner balked at this, the association was able to show that it was mandatory to pay certain fees.

Association fees are an integral part of keeping a planned community or condominium building running smoothly. They’re key to paying bills for routine services and amenities and, in some communities, can contribute to additional bonuses for members, like social events. But when members don’t pay their association fees it can very negatively affect the community. Even if a few members don’t pay their assessments on time, an association can face serious financial problems.

One of the draws of living in a planned community is aesthetics—uniformity in the design and appearance of homes, rules and regulations that prevent homeowners from putting up decorations that are eyesores, and specific paint themes and landscaping that are in good taste all make for a neighborhood that looks great. But there are times when members may want to make modifications to their homes. In these instances, the concern for associations is that these changes may affect the harmonious design of a community, decrease property values, and increase liability.

Facts: A condominium member asserted that a resolution in the governing documents, which classified certain association records as “primary and/or protected records” that couldn’t be inspected by members, was invalid. The member asked a trial court to order the association to produce 10 types of records that she had asked the association to provide, but that it refused to.

Decision: A Pennsylvania trial court invalidated the resolution. It ordered the association to permit the member to inspect and view the documents.

A California homeowners association is requiring members to keep their garage doors open most of the day on weekdays. The new rule is in response to the association learning that so-called squatters—people living in a home illegally—were inhabiting the garage of at least one home in the area.

While squatting can present its own problems for an association, members are complaining that the move is putting them at risk in a different way: Security is compromised.