Legal Compliance for Community Associations

Community association managers don’t have to look far for codes of ethics. CAI, CACI, IRIM, BOMA — all of these organizations have established codes. But how do they play out in the real world? We asked two property management professionals with decades of experience between them. Their insights, shared in this two-part article, provide valuable…

From governing documents and vendor contracts to communications with owners, community association boards of directors may feel like the constant deluge of paperwork is drowning them. “This can become a problem because community associations are required to keep a great deal more documents than any individual director is accustomed to in their personal lives,” says…

When owners sue a community association board of directors, the board often turns to the business judgment rule as a defense to the allegations. The defense may lead to the dismissal of the case before trial — but not always. A recent case out of New York is a stark reminder that board members don’t…

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) — also known as granny flats, in-law units, and carriage houses, among other names — are popping up across the country, particularly in dense urban areas. And many community associations are unprepared. “It’s the wave of the future,” says Gordon Goetz, president of The Management Trust – Central Coast/Central Valley, which…

If your clients have problems getting sufficient attendance at meetings to elect new board members, they’re not alone. The good news, though, is that this generally doesn’t impact the authority of the incumbent board to act on behalf of the association. That was the ruling in a recent case that made it to the Michigan…

Community associations often struggle to achieve the quorum required to elect new board members at their annual meetings. But does that mean the board members who carry over lose the authority to act? A Michigan Court of Appeals recently said it means no such thing. Channel View East Condominium Ass’n, Inc. v. Ferguson (Mich. App.…

Owners can act out in different ways when they don’t like how their associations are carrying out their business and feel their complaints are being ignored. One common reaction is to withhold assessments until they get the response they want. But the law generally doesn’t let them do this. The Indiana Court of Appeals recently…

Owner dissatisfaction with the way a community association is performing or the conditions or quality of the community and its amenities can create significant problems for an association — but it doesn’t justify the withholding of assessments. The Indiana Court of Appeals recently made clear that owners don’t have the option to simply stop paying…

2020 is here, and election season is right around the corner — depending on your location, it may have already started. You can count on some owners wanting to post signs supporting their preferred candidates. What can your client associations do about it? According to Stephen Davis, an attorney with the firm Carmody MacDonald who…

In these heated times, anything involving politics has the potential to stir up trouble. With another big election year poised to consume the country, community associations might find themselves descending into dramatic, disruptive, and costly divisions. Even ostensibly non-political restrictions — such as those on signs — might trigger lengthy litigation if your clients don’t…