Community Association Governance

Disputes over pet restrictions in community associations often are among the most contentious — perhaps never more so than when the association goes to court to get an animal removed after a biting incident. A recent case in Michigan illustrates how courts might tackle such disputes and how you can help your clients prepare to…

A Virginia court has issued a ruling that’s welcome news to community associations struggling with how to keep owners happy while reducing the risk of COVID-19. The court found an association’s requirement that users of the common area pool first sign an assumption of risk form reasonable. Such forms are becoming more common. “We have…

A Virginia court has issued a ruling that’s welcome news to community associations struggling with how to keep owners happy while reducing the risk of COVID-19. The court found an association’s requirement that users of the common area pool first sign an assumption of risk form reasonable (Norman v. Foxchase Owners Ass’n, Albemarle Cty. Oct.…

You and your clients probably think the business judgment rule protects their good faith interpretations of their governing documents, but a recent ruling from the Washington Court of Appeals raises questions about that. The court held that the rule applies only to individual directors and not to associations themselves (Bangerter v. Hat Island Community Ass’n,…

Even during the pandemic, short-term rental arrangements continue to plague community associations, with owners and powerful lobbying groups for companies like Airbnb constantly devising new tactics for avoiding restrictions. “With Airbnb and those platforms becoming such a huge percentage of rentals,” says Jennifer Biletnikoff, a shareholder in the Naples, Fla., office of Becker & Poliakoff,…

A Los Angeles condo association received bad news when it recently landed in court after prohibiting a disabled octogenarian owner and her two caregivers who had tested positive for COVID-19 from its high-rise building. Not only did the trial judge grant the owner a preliminary injunction preventing the association from blocking entry, he also found…

Want to help your clients avoid some dangerous territory in terms of both money and reputation? Here’s one easy way — educate them about some of the ostensibly innocent practices they engage in that could land them in court for fair housing violations. Our experts have identified several that might come back to haunt a…

A Los Angeles condo association received bad news when it recently landed in court after prohibiting a disabled octogenarian owner and her two caregivers who had tested positive for COVID-19 from its high-rise building. (Thompson v. The Diplomat Condominium Association, Inc., L.A. Cty., Sept. 29, 2020) Not only did the trial judge grant the owner…

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many community associations have turned to virtual or telephonic meetings, but some have run into members who object. A recent ruling by a New York state court provides some reassurance that your clients have some wiggle room when it comes to strict adherence to annual meeting requirements amidst…

Managing community associations means dealing with a nonstop carousel of complaints — those that are novel, those that are evergreen and never seem to go away, and those that pop up in new or unexpected ways. Here are some of the issues currently beleaguering association managers across the country. 1. Smoking This classic has gained…