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Association fees are an integral part of keeping a planned community or condominium building running smoothly. They’re key to paying bills for routine services and amenities and, in some communities, can contribute to additional bonuses for members, like social events. But when members don’t pay their association fees it can very negatively affect the community. Even if a few members don’t pay their assessments on time, an association can face serious financial problems.

Setting a code of conduct for board members who are campaigning and asking all board candidates to pledge to follow it may reduce negativity, but remember that you shouldn’t try to require candidates to sign it. An association board has no authority to impose requirements for board candidates other than being in good standing, such as agreeing to a set of campaign standards. If you try to force candidates to sign the pledge or you disqualify candidates who refuse to sign the pledge, you may leave the association vulnerable to a lawsuit and maybe even liability.

It’s important to make sure that your governing documents spell out exactly the expectations for members—especially when it comes to financial responsibilities. An association prevailed in a recent case in Pennsylvania because its covenants specified what owners were obligated to pay for. When a homeowner balked at this, the association was able to show that it was mandatory to pay certain fees.

Association fees are an integral part of keeping a planned community or condominium building running smoothly. They’re key to paying bills for routine services and amenities and, in some communities, can contribute to additional bonuses for members, like social events. But when members don’t pay their association fees it can very negatively affect the community. Even if a few members don’t pay their assessments on time, an association can face serious financial problems.

Facts: A condominium member asserted that a resolution in the governing documents, which classified certain association records as “primary and/or protected records” that couldn’t be inspected by members, was invalid. The member asked a trial court to order the association to produce 10 types of records that she had asked the association to provide, but that it refused to.

Decision: A Pennsylvania trial court invalidated the resolution. It ordered the association to permit the member to inspect and view the documents.

A California homeowners association is requiring members to keep their garage doors open most of the day on weekdays. The new rule is in response to the association learning that so-called squatters—people living in a home illegally—were inhabiting the garage of at least one home in the area.

While squatting can present its own problems for an association, members are complaining that the move is putting them at risk in a different way: Security is compromised.

Under current law, Arizona homeowners associations can foreclose on owners if they fail to pay their dues for a year or get behind by $1,200—whichever comes first. A bill introduced by one of Arizona’s Republican senators would allow HOA foreclosures after six months, with no minimum debt, such as the $1,200 figure that applies now.

The past year has created divisiveness in political conversations and discussions about recent exposes regarding sexual harassment. Living in close proximity in a condo building or sharing amenities year after year in more spread out planned communities can throw together members with different points of view about various topics—some of them controversial like those. But some states had reported a rise in hostility and aggressive behavior among community association members even before national events brought up these issues to argue over.

Board elections have the potential to cause a stir within community associations. They can become highly competitive, requiring campaigning or other gestures by candidates. Owners who aren’t happy with the outcome might protest, either acting displeased or escalating things to the point where they call for a new election. But just because owners are unhappy with something in the community doesn’t mean that it’s automatically wrong.

Federal authorities reported they have halted a homeowners association foreclosure fraud scheme, after a nearly three-year investigation. Federal authorities seized gold, cash, and other property from a Raleigh, N.C., man accused of fraudulently scooping up homes in foreclosure. He was charged with multiple counts of bank fraud and engaging in monetary transactions involving criminally derived property, among other crimes.