Departments

Unfortunately, you’ll sometimes have to determine how to handle a situation where a member is delinquent in paying assessments or other fees or charges from the association you manage. Tread lightly in this situation. There can be major ramifications from—and even penalties for—associations that are deemed to be acting as a “debt collector” while trying to recoup what the member owes. And if a member is trying to pay delinquent fees, you should also find out how you can work with him to pay down the balance.

Many condo associations face an increased number of complaints from nonsmokers about their smoking neighbors and are being asked to take action. Oftentimes, associations are put in the awkward position of resolving the conflict between smoking and nonsmoking members. The emotions involved are heightened due to the fact that smokers believe that they have a right to smoke in their own homes, while nonsmokers believe that they have a right not to be exposed to harmful secondhand smoke.

A selling point of association living is that the community’s or condominium building’s appearance will be maintained and uniform. While control over uniformity and aesthetics plays a large role in the attraction to this type of homeownership, from time to time, a member will ask for a variance from the architectural and design rules.

Facts: A homeowners association declaration permitted garages that are attached to a home, and accessory structures that are not used for storage and that are deemed acceptable by the design review committee. Two homeowners’ request to build a detached “garage” on their property was denied by the association because the declaration allowed only those garages that are attached to a house. The homeowners built the garage without the association’s approval. The association sent the homeowners a letter asking them to comply with the declaration.

Facts: A townhome owner failed to pay two years’ of association assessments due on the property. The association filed a small claims action seeking damages for the unpaid assessments, including late fees and attorney’s fees.

Facts: An association discovered that two homeowners in the community were operating daycare businesses in their homes. The association asked a trial court for a declaration that this was in violation of the restrictive covenant, and an injunction—that is, an order from the court to shut down the businesses.

Facts: Two homeowners moved into a planned community in 2009. The association fined them for bringing their dog into the clubhouse. The homeowners contested the fines. The homeowners argued that the fines were wrongly imposed because they hadn’t been properly notified of any change in the HOA rules prohibiting dogs.

The cold weather is about to arrive in many parts of the country, bringing with it the increased threat of fires due to the improper use of electric space heaters. According to the National Fire Protection Association, space heaters account for one-third of home-heating fires and three-fourths of home-heating fire deaths.

Many associations allow their members to rent out their units, provided they follow association guidelines regarding how this is done. But it’s the association that ends up having the sometimes onerous task of controlling renters’ behavior on a day-to-day basis. You can do this by creating a lease addendum containing protections for you with regard to renters, and passing a rule requiring members to attach the addendum to any lease they sign for their unit.

Q: As the manager of a condo building, I recently discovered that a member has been operating a day care for profit in her unit. There have been a few complaints from other members about noise and an increased number of visitors to the building—mostly from pick-ups and drop-offs of children. I checked our governing documents and home businesses are banned.