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Properly operating elevators rank near the top of the most important  — and most visible —equipment in a community association. Yet some communities sign standard service contracts without giving the terms much thought. “One of the biggest mistakes across the board with associations is not having a lawyer look over the elevator contracts,” says Jennifer…

If your clients are facing pressure to both re-open amenities and keep their residents safe from COVID-19, they might be considering imposing vaccine requirements. Here’s what they need to know before they decide whether to require vaccinations of owners wishing to use amenities and third-party vendors coming on the property. Mandates for Amenities As is…

Poor recordkeeping can undermine the results of even the most amiable and productive board or membership meeting. When a meeting is contentious, insufficient records can prove even more disastrous. A community in Pennsylvania learned that the hard way. A trial court described the community as mired in utter chaos, nonstop disagreement, and a continuing power struggle…

A Florida HOA didn’t provide an owner it was trying to foreclose on with documents required by the declaration. The result? The case is going to trial (Pash v. Mahogany Way Homeowners Ass’n). Read on to learn some important lessons about how to handle foreclosures. Budget Procedures Matter The HOA filed a foreclosure action against…

A far-reaching new piece of legislation targeting community associations took effect in Florida on July 1, 2021. “It’s a mixed bag,” says Donna DiMaggio Berger, a shareholder in the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., office of Becker & Poliakoff. “There’s some good stuff and some not so good stuff.” Good or bad, though, Berger says “there are…

A no-pet policy. An owner who requests an emotional support animal (ESA). Another owner with severe pet allergies. What’s your client to do? A recent ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court demonstrates just how dicey this situation can be — even when a board tries its best to accommodate everyone (Cohen v. Clark, Iowa Supreme…

A third-party security guard who slipped and fell on a puddle while on duty sued the Georgia condo association where she was working. The association doesn’t have its own employees, so it hires third-party contractors to perform the necessary functions. For example, in May 2012, it retained Sizemore Security Services to provide “safety officers” for…

Properly operating elevators rank near the top of the most important  — and most visible —equipment in a community association. Yet some communities sign standard service contracts without giving the terms much thought. “One of the biggest mistakes across the board with associations is not having a lawyer look over the elevator contracts,” says Jennifer…

Some associations with the word “plantation” in their names are struggling with pushes among their owners to change their communities’ names. The issue primarily is arising in the southern part of the United States, largely in response to the killing of George Floyd in 2020. “We’ve had a rash of associations dealing with this,” says…

An Ohio HOA recently learned the hard way that discrimination lawsuits arising out of pet restrictions aren’t limited to disability-related claims. That’s one lesson from the association’s attempts to remove a pig from its premises; the other is that poorly worded restrictions can backfire. “I’ve seen disputes with atypical pets, but it’s usually when there’s…