Legal Compliance for Community Associations

A condominium complex in Florida — and its manager — are facing a class action lawsuit after publishing a so-called “deadbeat” list of owners who were behind on their assessments (Williams v. Salt Springs Resort Ass’n (Fla. App. 2020). The state Court of Appeals that allowed the class action to proceed reversed both a lower…

A federal district court recently found that an HOA’s age-based rules regarding its recreational facilities were so obviously discriminatory that no trial on liability was even necessary. Do your associations know how to avoid getting themselves into a similar position? Brian and Anne Hill bought a single-family home in the 333-unit River Run HOA. They…

A recent case out of Idaho serves as a strong reminder that your clients must tread carefully when devising age-based rules and regulations. (Hill v. River Run Homeowners Ass'n (D. Idaho 2020)). Recreation Rules Brian and Anne Hill bought a single-family home in the 333-unit River Run HOA. They and their children — ages 1,…

You might make yourself your clients' MVP by helping them focus on the steps they can be taking now to make sure the long-term work in dealing with COVID-19 isn't as difficult as the initial steps for many community associations. For some parts of the United States, it seems that the so-called “first wave” of…

Are your clients truly ready for what now looks to be a long game in the fight against COVID-19? Experts widely expect the coronavirus to continue to be a factor in the fall and the winter, when it could be compounded by the return of the seasonal flu. Even if you're in an area currently…

Easements are common in community associations, and, especially when high-value property is involved, can lead to costly litigation. Associations and owners may feel confident about the rights an easement conveys when they agree to it, but, as a North Carolina case recently demonstrated, easements are subject to expansion. That court, for example, that found an…

A public health crisis, a recession, civil unrest — any one of these could lead to financial difficulties for a community association, including a jump in dues deficiencies that threatens reserve funding. But maintaining adequate reserve funds is mandatory in some states and advisable everywhere. Here are some tips for helping your clients manage their…

Your clients and their owners probably think they understand the rights that so-called access easements convey. “It sounds pretty self-explanatory,” says David Wilson, who heads up the South Carolina community association department at the law firm Black, Slaughter & Black, P.A. But, as a North Carolina court recently found, an access easement isn’t limited solely…

Few community association board members ever want to get involved in neighbor-to-neighbor disputes — but, under a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rule, sticking their heads in the sand could result in association liability for harassment under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). “The HUD regulations were adopted in October 2016,” says Brendan…

Several years ago, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a final rule that makes community associations potentially liable under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) for harassment committed by third parties based on a protected characteristic — including neighbor-to-neighbor harassment. “The HUD regulations were adopted in October 2016,” says Brendan Bunn, a…