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Unfortunately for community association managers, there are some common fair housing problems that can arise from community rules. To avoid them, make sure you understand where you might go wrong. In general, community rules trigger fair housing problems in one of two ways—either the rules are enforced unfairly or the rules themselves are unfair.

With the increasing trend of workers telecommuting to jobs with companies and the proliferation of online shops whose sellers make or store their merchandise at home, associations have had to deal with the issues surrounding so-called “home businesses.” This is a tricky issue, which is controlled in many associations by the communities governing documents. But even if governing documents prohibit businesses or commercial use of homes or condos, be aware that there still are circumstances under which the association you manage can’t interfere.

Unfortunately, as community association managers know all too well, sometimes the contractors your association hires for such jobs as snow plowing, painting, or providing security don’t perform up to the standards you expect. If you don’t terminate the contract and you let the company continue to provide poor service to your community, members could get frustrated and the management office could be fielding an increased number of complaints. Even worse, the association could get hit with a lawsuit by a member or guest hurt because of bad service.

  Facts:   Lot owners in a planned residential community owned two adjacent lots. After several years, they combined both lots into a single lot. They followed state law to do so and properly recorded the change. When the association charged them for assessments for each of the two lots, which now were combined, the owners objected.

Like any other business or organization, community associations must file taxes with the government. And tax liability is a huge issue that associations need to be aware of. Improper reporting can land the association in hot water and cost thousands in fines, penalties, and late fees. This is especially tricky when it comes to your employees. April—the month in which federal and state taxes must be filed—is around the corner.

You may encounter a situation where a member of the community association you manage complains about a maintenance or other type of worker who’s left alone with the member. But what if it isn’t clear exactly what the employee may have done wrong? Sometimes, an interaction might be described in general terms as “creepy” or as having made the member feel “scared.” But if the member didn’t say anything specific that the worker did that was inappropriate and you’ve never had any complaints before, you should tread lightly.