Departments

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently charged a Las Vegas homeowners association and its management company with discriminating against families with children by restricting its housing to members who are 55 and older.

If your association is facing a budget shortfall, you can suggest options for the board to consider. Although each association's specific circumstances are unique, using one or more of the following four options may close the gap:

• Utilize the prior year's accumulated surplus. If such a surplus exists, then depending on the nature, magnitude, and timing of the expense, it may be appropriate to spend some or the entire surplus to resolve an outstanding obligation.

In the past few years, we have seen an incredible rise in bedbug infestations in all 50 states. In a 2010 survey conducted by the National Pest Management Association, 95 percent of responding pest-control professionals reported treating bedbugs during the previous year. In 2000, the number was 25 percent.

From time to time, there will be conflicts within your community. When there's a dispute between or among members, or between members and the association or its directors, the board will have to determine the best strategy for a resolution.

Q A disabled member asked the board to allow his car to be permanently parked in a guest parking space as a reasonable accommodation, after the board asked him to remove the car. The car has not been moved in two years. It has an expired inspection sticker and is, therefore, inoperable. Under the reasonable accommodation provisions of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), are we required to grant him this request?

Facts: Organized in 1986, a Florida community is a mixed-use condominium with 810 residential units, 259 commercial units, and 141 retail units. The community's governing documents provide for a seven-member board of directors governing the association, with two members each elected by the residential unit members, the commercial unit members, and the retail unit members, and the seventh member elected-at-large.

Facts: An African-American couple bought a condominium in 2004 as a rental property investment. When the bylaws were amended in 2007, the couple sued the association and its individual board members, alleging housing discrimination. The couple claimed that the association's new leasing restrictions had a negative impact on the availability of rental housing for minorities and other protected classes in the area.

The high-profile owner of a collection of penthouses in a luxury condominium building in New York City's SoHo neighborhood has created a controversy with his refusal to pay nearly $40,000 in common area maintenance (CAM) charges the condo board claims he owes.

Social networking is growing at an exponential rate. According to a report by technology and market research firm Forrester Research, 55.6 million U.S. adults visited social networking sites in 2009, double the number of users reported in 2007. As more adults become engaged with social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, property management companies and associations are increasing their presence in an effort to be where their members are. These communities are discovering that Facebook, in particular, is especially adept at conveying information and building community.

Facts: The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and a community's developer filed a lawsuit against the master association and its board of directors for leasing restrictions the association adopted. The community consists of single-family homes, townhomes, and two-flat condominium buildings.