Articles

Facts: A member failed to pay his $200 monthly assessment because he felt the association was not properly handling his complaints involving water, rodent, and trash issues. The association's board of directors' secretary contacted the association manager and asked him to call the member to resolve the member's issues. The manager called the member while he was at work.

The project manager for a condo conversion project in Florida has agreed to plead guilty to a federal crime for helping cover up asbestos violations.

New Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules are set to take effect in April 2010. If you manage a condo building that was built before 1978 and has not been certified as lead-free, you should be aware of the new rules.

Facts: According to an association's bylaws, a member cannot stand for election for the board of directors at the annual meeting if the member is engaged in litigation, arbitration, or mediation against the association.

Facts: A member sued his condominium association, the management company, and a snow removal company for injuries sustained when he slipped on a recently plowed pathway to his garage. The association had hired the snow removal company to clear snow from the community's common areas. Included in the common areas was a driveway leading to the member's garage.

Facts: A member obtained association approval for an addition to his home and for substantial outdoor improvements to his property. The approval specified that an outdoor structure could not exceed 10 feet 6 inches in height. However, over the course of construction, the member concluded that he had to increase the height of the structure. He increased it by a foot and a half without first obtaining a variance from the association.

Facts: A member of a cooperative sued her association and its officers for the removal and destruction of the contents of a storage bin located in the basement of the co-op. As a cooperative housing corporation, each member or shareholder is issued a proprietary lease through which he or she pays maintenance fees to the association.

Many condo associations face an increased number of complaints from nonsmokers about their smoking neighbors and are being asked to take action. Oftentimes, associations are put in the awkward position of resolving the conflict between smoking and nonsmoking members. The emotions involved are heightened due to the fact that smokers believe that they have a right to smoke in their own homes, while nonsmokers believe that they have a right not to be exposed to harmful secondhand smoke.

Speeding drivers in your community can ruin your neighborhood's tranquility and, more importantly, threaten the safety of anyone on foot, especially playing children. According to the American Journal of Public Health, two-thirds of children who are hurt or killed in traffic accidents are struck and injured within several blocks of their homes.

Facts: Two members claimed that they did not know a homeowners association existed when they purchased their respective homes. The property deeds make no mention of the association, and the deeds contain no restrictions that require the owners to become members.

In addition, the association's governing documents state that any owner within the community “may become a member” of the association “upon submitting a letter of application and being accepted by a majority vote of the membership.”