eAlerts

2020 is here, and election season is right around the corner — depending on your location, it may have already started. You can count on some owners wanting to post signs supporting their preferred candidates. What can your client associations do about it? According to Stephen Davis, an attorney with the firm Carmody MacDonald who…

It’s taken almost two years of hearings, comments, and modifications, but California’s new regulations aimed at curbing housing discrimination have been finalized and approved. “As far as we can tell, these are the first detailed state fair housing regulations in the country,” says Kelly Richardson, a principal with Richardson Ober DeNichilo PC, a California law…

This week, we dig into the rise in incivility at community association meetings. Examples abound of inappropriate behavior these days, making it difficult for managers and boards to perform their duties. Rather than ignoring such conduct, though, they need to take a proactive stance, and we’ll explain how. From profane name-calling to fistfights, the behavior…

This week, we dig into a landmark case out of Michigan. The state Court of Appeals ruled that a condo association could hold a unit owner liable for the previous owner’s bylaw violations, even though the association had let them go unabated for at least two years. The case is full of good news for…

This week, we tell you about a landmark ruling out of Missouri that dramatically expands the ability of associations to add restrictions by amendment. It frees associations there — and potentially elsewhere — from a rule that has handcuffed them for 80 years. The new case involves a subdivision that was established in 1923, with…

It’s not unusual for a community association board to develop rules and regulations for holiday decorations — but do they have that authority? You might be surprised. This week, we discuss a case where the Virginia Supreme Court struck down an HOA’s decorations guidelines because the declarations didn’t give the board authority to impose such…

This week, we lay out the new rule regarding who qualifies for overtime pay and who doesn’t. The U.S. Department of Labor released the final rule this past September, and it’s poised to take effect on January 1, 2020. With the possibility that currently exempt employees won’t continue to qualify for their exemptions under the…

This week, we look at new California legislation that explicitly bars community associations from restricting owners’ displays of religious items on their entry doors and frames, easing tensions for boards that have been put between a rock (observing religious freedoms) and a hard place (complying with governing documents). Several other states have already seen the…

This week, we highlight three parking issues that cause problems in many community associations — the growing demand for disabled parking, legal restrictions on enforcement, and a new twist on commercial vehicles. We discuss the headaches they create for managers and boards and propose some solutions. By the year 2030, all Baby Boomers will be…

This week, we dig into the significant risks smaller community associations shoulder when they leave the handling of financial matters to only one or two insiders and suggest some steps they can take to control those risks. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for under-resourced or overtrusting associations to find themselves the victims of fraud. In April…