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Disputes over pet restrictions in community associations often are among the most contentious — perhaps never more so than when the association goes to court to get an animal removed after a biting incident. A recent case in Michigan illustrates how courts might tackle such disputes and how you can help your clients prepare to…

A Virginia court has issued a ruling that’s welcome news to community associations struggling with how to keep owners happy while reducing the risk of COVID-19. The court found an association’s requirement that users of the common area pool first sign an assumption of risk form reasonable (Norman v. Foxchase Owners Ass’n, Albemarle Cty. Oct.…

You and your clients probably think the business judgment rule protects their good faith interpretations of their governing documents, but a recent ruling from the Washington Court of Appeals raises questions about that. The court held that the rule applies only to individual directors and not to associations themselves (Bangerter v. Hat Island Community Ass’n,…

Community associations increasingly are installing automated license plate readers (ALPRs) as a way to bolster security. “As people get more used to the technology, I think more associations will go down this path,” says Kevin Hirzel, managing member of Hirzel Law, PLC, a Michigan-based firm that works with community associations, “especially if they’re looking to…

The federal government’s initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic included passage of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) — a law that community associations and managers could inadvertently violate if they’re not careful. An association in Florida learned that the hard way when an employee it had terminated sued it under the law. That…

Want to help your clients avoid some dangerous territory in terms of both money and reputation? Here’s one easy way — educate them about some of the ostensibly innocent practices they engage in that could land them in court for fair housing violations. Our experts have identified several that might come back to haunt a…

A Los Angeles condo association received bad news when it recently landed in court after prohibiting a disabled octogenarian owner and her two caregivers who had tested positive for COVID-19 from its high-rise building. (Thompson v. The Diplomat Condominium Association, Inc., L.A. Cty., Sept. 29, 2020) Not only did the trial judge grant the owner…

Managing community associations means dealing with a nonstop carousel of complaints — those that are novel, those that are evergreen and never seem to go away, and those that pop up in new or unexpected ways. Here are some of the issues currently beleaguering association managers across the country. 1. Smoking This classic has gained…

Like the Great Recession and other crises before it, the COVID-19 pandemic has cast a bright light on how community association managers and their clients should handle the collection of past due assessments.

High unemployment and mortgage delinquency rates, as well as eviction and foreclosure moratoriums, have put many associations in a difficult position. They want to show compassion to owners suffering through no fault of their own, but they rely on assessments to maintain and repair common property and keep owners safe.

Of course, collections can prove challenging even when delinquencies aren’t skyrocketing. That’s because owners in default tend to fall into one of three categories.

This Special Report provides expert advice on how you can increase the odds of collecting from every kind of debtor you and our clients may encounter. It includes insights on how to improve collections during both regular times and those periods when developments such as COVID-19 threaten the finances of wide swaths of owners.

Download now »

Pharmaceutical companies and the Food and Drug Administration are hopeful that a vaccine against COVID-19 will be available in the coming months. As that date nears, some of your clients, particularly those with older populations, may start wonder if they can — and should — require residents to be vaccinated. “People aren’t thinking about it…