Departments

Q: The board of the association I manage is trying to reduce costs for operating the community. One way to do this would be to drop an insurance policy for specific risks, like flooding. What is the risk for the association of not providing this type of insurance?

A New York community association is facing a discrimination lawsuit brought in federal court by Jewish members of the community who say that the association is hostile to their religious practices. According to the members, the association has adopted rules that are “expressly designed to harass Hasidic Jews.”

Proper and timely maintenance of every feature in a planned community or condominium is key to keeping things running smoothly. But members will inevitably have a wide range of attitudes toward their own maintenance obligations. On one end of the spectrum will be members who understand that, depending on the governing documents, they have maintenance obligations that are not the responsibility of the association. On the other end, you’ll encounter members who either don’t understand their obligations or don’t take them seriously.

Q: The board of directors of the community association I manage has the authority to approve or deny proposed leasing and sales transactions. If there is a denial, should we disclose the reasons behind it? If so, what is the best way to do so?

Facts: A group of homeowners sought a declaratory judgment from a trial court that an amendment to the governing documents of their homeowners association was null and void. The amendment expressly authorized the association to enter into an agreement with a nearby private swim and tennis club. Under the agreement, the club granted an easement giving the association's members the right to use the club's facilities as members.

A white man who challenged a black family’s use of a gated pool in a North Carolina planned community resigned from the homeowner’s association board. After the board member, who also was the community pool chairman, asked a mother and her son to produce identification verifying that they were residents of the community, a verbal altercation began. The board member called the police, who diffused the situation.

There’s always turnover for community association boards. A board member might move, retire, want to travel, or become too busy for some reason to fulfill her responsibilities. When a board member gives up her position, the association has the sometimes difficult task of replacing the outgoing member. There are certain qualities that some people have that make them more suitable for the role than others. Experience, of course, helps too. After all, the more a new board member knows, the more she’ll be able to contribute to the association in a meaningful way.

A New York community association is facing a discrimination lawsuit brought in federal court by Jewish members of the community who say that the association is hostile to their religious practices. According to the members, the association has adopted rules that are “expressly designed to harass Hasidic Jews.”

A family who has installed a playground in the backyard of their home in a planned community is embroiled in a fight with the association over the structure, which was installed as a gift for their daughter who had a kidney transplant and will be returning home soon. The family moved to the community to be closer to medical care.