Dispute Resolution

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,…

In the June 2020 issue of Community Management Association Insider, we explained why owners’ hoarding should matter to their associations and highlighted several red flags for such behavior. Now we dig into just what an association can do in such circumstances. “You need to be very careful with how you approach the situation because of…

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…

Regardless of where you’re located, or how long you’ve been in the business, the same types of problems tend to crop up over and over, don’t they?

It’s not the big emergencies that make you pull your hair out, but the everyday hassles that start to grate when you get lots of people living together in the same community. Things like pet issues. And smoking. And the other chronic niggling nuisances that, over time, become a real pain in the neck.

Which is why we’ve pulled together this Special Report specifically about managing these sorts of challenges.

Download now »

When owners volunteer for their associations’ boards of directors, they probably don’t expect that their responsibilities will include dealing with mental health issues, but they can and increasingly do — for example, when an owner appears to be a hoarder. While your clients may prefer not to get involved in such situations, that would be…

Hoarding is more than just fodder for reality TV fans. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has formally recognized it as a disorder that affects an estimated 2 to 6 percent of the population. According to the APA, sufferers excessively save items that others may view as worthless, leading to clutter that disrupts their ability to…

Owners renting their units can lead to all sorts of complications for a community, but, just when you think you’ve got your arms around the potential issues, another one can pop up. The manager and board of directors for a condominium association in New York City, for example, probably never considered the possibility that an…

Your clients may have the legal right to foreclose on a delinquent owner’s property, but that doesn’t mean they should — especially if the sale price is disproportionately low. That approach could backfire, with the sale overturned by the courts. A recent ruling from the South Carolina Supreme Court (Winrose Homeowners’ Ass’n v. Hale) drives…

Governing documents typically give community associations the right to foreclose on delinquent owners at some point. That right, however, doesn’t necessarily entitle an association to sell foreclosed property at whatever price it wants. A recent court case (Winrose Homeowners’ Ass’n v. Hale) drives this point home. A state Supreme Court found that the sale price…