Featured Articles

Sadly, a member in the planned community or condominium that you manage could die. If you and your staff have gotten to know the member or her family well, it could be especially upsetting. But as an association professional, you’ll have to handle the practical aspects involved when a home or condo is no longer occupied for this reason.

Record keeping is an essential part of running an association. Not only does the law require associations to keep certain types of records for specified periods of time, but records also can prove that the association acted as it was required to in certain situations, like making necessary repairs—which in turn can relieve it from liability for wrongdoing and avoid lawsuits. Records can also help you keep track of things like association spending, complaints and requests by members, and board decisions.

Community association boards occasionally want to make an exception to an association rule or restrictive covenant for a member whose unusual circumstance the board feels warrants an exception. Other times, a board may want to make a community-wide exception. Boards worry, though, that if they make an exception to a rule or restrictive covenant, they might be prevented from enforcing it at some time in the future. That’s because some courts have ruled that associations had forfeited their right to enforce certain rules or restrictive covenants by allowing violations.

Disability discrimination claims account for more than half of all fair housing complaints, often based on disputes over requests by members and other residents with disabilities to have assistance animals.

There’s a lot of confusion over assistance animals, which can go by so many names—service animals, therapy animals, companion animals, emotional support animals—and there are different sets of rules on when, where, and what types of animals may be used by individuals with disabilities in various settings.

For an association, its board of directors, or manager, there is never a good time for a lawsuit. If the association has been forced to sue a member due to chronic rule violations or unpaid assessments, it can lead to expensive and protracted litigation. And if the association is being sued, it faces those same problems. But in the case of a discrimination claim by a member, statutory fines and governmental involvement also pile on. A discrimination lawsuit additionally carries with it the potential to damage your community’s reputation.

Regardless of how well you manage a condominium building or planned community, inevitably, some homeowners will complain. Not everyone will agree on decisions that are made. And the way in which associations operate—homeowners live essentially under the rule of elected leaders—can breed resentment. Sometimes, complaints are well founded, but it’s not surprising that others are mean-spirited or have no basis in fact.

If your community is like most, you rely on a variety of outside contractors or vendors to perform services. For example, landscaping, plumbing, or electrical work are commonly farmed out to vendors who send their own choice of workers. This means that individuals will be in your community whom you don’t know anything about—and who potentially don’t respect the association’s members or rules.

For many members, the upside of community association living is the ability to have some control over their lifestyle by agreeing to comply with rules aimed at creating a pleasant environment. Governing documents and bylaws that set rules and expectations for peaceful living and provide mechanisms to enforce compliance—like fines—go a long way toward keeping things in check. But unlike cut-and-dried infractions, such as painting a home in a color that isn’t in the association’s color palette, “noise” is highly subjective.

Although members on an association’s board of directors are volunteers, their roles in the operation of the community are important. Mistakes by board members can lead to liability for the association. But sometimes, especially if they are roped into serving on the board, members don’t understand the functions of their positions and the best way to carry out their responsibilities.

Whether you manage a planned community or a condominium building, issues with the board can take up your time and create frustration among owners who just want things to run smoothly. One of those issues could be assembling a board to begin with. In some scenarios, owners may be clamoring to serve on the board. That’s good news: It indicates that members of the community are invested in and want to be involved in the successful operation of the association.