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Community associations that harbor acrimony and hostility are among the most difficult to manage and govern. With the country seemingly at odds more than ever, managers need to step up and do their part to promote healing in divided communities. The State of Affairs “Associations are becoming more polarized,” says Brad van Rooyen, national VP…

Conflicts of interest can strip board members of the protections they otherwise might have under the business judgment rule. A case involving a California HOA recently drove that point home (Coley v. Eskaton). “The case really demonstrates the limits of the business judgment rule and how it’s very easy to step outside the limits of…

With COVID-19 vaccinations widely available and government restrictions dramatically loosened, community association managers have more bandwidth to deal with matters that might have been neglected during the pandemic. We asked some of our experts about the issues they were now turning their attention to. Unfortunately, while COVID concerns have receded, they’ve been replaced with a…

When associations sue owners, they typically rely on language in the governing documents that provides the owner must pay the association’s costs if it prevails. But the Missouri Supreme Court recently ruled that an HOA that successfully sued an owner over unapproved construction was on the hook for its own nearly $84,000 in attorney’s fees…

It’s one thing when a tenant occasionally doesn’t clean up after his dog. It’s another, says Scott Weiss, of counsel for the Nashville, Tenn., law firm Ortale Kelley, “when you have repetitive violations of the governing documents, drug dealing, loud parties, or damage to common elements or other owners’ property.” Extreme circumstances call for extreme…

The media have been blasting headlines about rising crime, but the message doesn’t seem to be getting much traction with many community associations. While they may have implemented what ostensibly are security tools, these associations are deploying them more to monitor residents than to combat crimes against people or property. “Security these days is less…

If your clients are facing pressure to both re-open amenities and keep their residents safe from COVID-19, they might be considering imposing vaccine requirements. Here’s what they need to know before they decide whether to require vaccinations of owners wishing to use amenities and third-party vendors coming on the property. Mandates for Amenities As is…

A Florida HOA didn’t provide an owner it was trying to foreclose on with documents required by the declaration. The result? The case is going to trial (Pash v. Mahogany Way Homeowners Ass’n). Read on to learn some important lessons about how to handle foreclosures. Budget Procedures Matter The HOA filed a foreclosure action against…

A far-reaching new piece of legislation targeting community associations took effect in Florida on July 1, 2021. “It’s a mixed bag,” says Donna DiMaggio Berger, a shareholder in the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., office of Becker & Poliakoff. “There’s some good stuff and some not so good stuff.” Good or bad, though, Berger says “there are…

A no-pet policy. An owner who requests an emotional support animal (ESA). Another owner with severe pet allergies. What’s your client to do? A recent ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court demonstrates just how dicey this situation can be — even when a board tries its best to accommodate everyone (Cohen v. Clark, Iowa Supreme…