eAlerts

While it saves a lot of hassle—and potentially litigation—when association guidelines are detailed, occasionally you’ll come across a member with a request to install an item that hasn’t been addressed. But does that mean that it’s permissible for an owner to do anything that isn’t mentioned?

As a community association manager, a large part of your time can be taken up with questions from directors and members that require a response. While you might want to provide as much helpful information as you can, be aware that this area can be fraught with risk for you and your management company.

Avoiding the Practice of Law

Occasionally, a homeowner will ask to review association records. This can be a tricky issue if you don’t know exactly how to handle this request and what you can and can’t show to a member. A recent court case highlighted the specific issue of associations withholding records based on “protected” status.

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.

As time goes on, even more information emerges about how dangerous smoking is not only for smokers, but also for those exposed to secondhand smoke. Secondhand tobacco smoke—Environmental Tobacco Smoke or ETS—has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a “Group A” carcinogen, a known cause of cancer. Smoking is also a fire hazard, leading to possible property damage; cigarettes or cigars that haven’t been completely extinguished can spark flames.

If you manage a condominium building that’s out of date environmentally, you should consider getting behind a green initiative. You could push for the building to become LEED certified. It’s possible to bring older condominiums up to date environmentally, but you’ll have to sell this idea to the board. Explaining LEED to them is important, but you’ll have to get up to speed on it first. Here’s what you need to know.

Learn about LEED

In some communities, there can be controversy over short-term rentals, with some members being strongly in favor of rentals while others fight to keep the community limited only to unit owners. But the outcome of a fight like this will be largely dependent on the covenants and governing documents of the association. In a recent case, a court determined that short-term rentals violated the restrictive covenant.

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.