Articles

A homeowners association and its developer are waging a battle with each other over which party is responsible for repairing major damage from a sinkhole in the community. Currently, barriers guard the spot where a creek bank eroded in 2015, a year when North Texas saw extreme storms and flooding.

Now, the community’s developer is denying that it should fix the heavily eroded creek bank—even as it gets larger with continued rainfall.

Facts: An association foreclosed on a lot in its community after the member failed to pay for maintenance fees and other amounts assessed against it. The member sued the association and its management company. She alleged that the association had engaged in fraud for filing an “invalid and inaccurate lien and foreclosure.” She asked the court for $2 million in damages.

A circuit court granted the association’s request for a judgment in its favor without a trial. It also declared the member a “vexatious litigant.” The member appealed.

Facts: After a homeowner stopped paying his association dues, the association filed a notice of lien and election to sell his home. The homeowner didn’t pay the delinquent dues, and the association sold the home at foreclosure, to itself, for a minimal amount. The homeowner sued for wrongful foreclosure, and the district court ultimately ruled in favor of the association without a trial. It also awarded the association attorney’s fees. The homeowner appealed.

Facts: A renter in a condominium building slipped and fell on ice, suffering injuries. She sued the condo unit owner, the association, and the management company for breach of contract under the theory of implied warranty of habitability, and negligence. All three parties asked a district court to dismiss the claims.

Decision: A Pennsylvania district court denied the parties’ request and ordered a trial.

For many members, the upside of community association living is the ability to have some control over their lifestyle by agreeing to comply with rules aimed at creating a pleasant environment. Governing documents and bylaws that set rules and expectations for peaceful living and provide mechanisms to enforce compliance—like fines—go a long way toward keeping things in check.

Too often, speeding in the community endangers homeowners and guests, especially children. Reducing traffic speed on community roads is key to ensuring a safe environment. So, before tragedy strikes, explore whether “traffic calmers”—also known as pavement modifications—are an option for your community. Traffic calmers are physical changes made to a road, which prevent cars from speeding. These changes include speed bumps, speed humps, and speed ridges (also known as rumble strips).

If there are disabled members who use wheelchairs in your community, you may notice damage in common area spots. Fortunately, by installing a few inexpensive devices, you can prevent most of this damage. Have your maintenance staff install these devices to protect the three parts of common areas that most frequently take abuse from wheelchairs:

For many members, the upside of community association living is the ability to have some control over their lifestyle by agreeing to comply with rules aimed at creating a pleasant environment. Governing documents and bylaws that set rules and expectations for peaceful living and provide mechanisms to enforce compliance—like fines—go a long way toward keeping things in check. But unlike cut-and-dried infractions, such as painting a home in a color that isn’t in the association’s color palette, “noise” is highly subjective.

Fining members is one of the most unpleasant aspects of managing a homeowners association, but it’s unfortunately sometimes necessary to uphold the rules of your community. The administrative aspects of fining can be difficult. When members refute the fact that they owe fines or refuse to pay fines, the dispute can end in hard feelings or, worse, litigation.

A large cooperative apartment complex in Brooklyn, N.Y., is in hot water following allegations that it refused to allow residents with disabilities to keep emotional support animals—an issue that has come to the forefront recently in national news. The Justice Department took action by filing a fair housing complaint against the 1,144-unit building.