If you have a continuing maintenance and repair contract with your elevator contractor, don’t let your staff do any work on your community’s elevators, except for routine cleaning and light bulb replacement. At most, when your staff members learn of an elevator problem, they should shut it down and call the contractor immediately. If an elevator malfunctions because of something the contractor did or didn’t do, you’ll probably be protected by your standard elevator contractor’s indemnification clause.

If a member sends an assessment check on which the number written in digits in the small box on the right side of the check is correct, but the amount written on the line is incorrect, return the check to the member. Otherwise, the bank will pay the check in the incorrect amount that’s written on the line. For example, if the monthly assessment is $222, and the member accidentally writes “Twenty-two dollars” on the line, the bank will pay you $22.

Group “re-lamping”—that is, replacing the bulbs, or “lamps,” in a certain area, such as common areas, according to a set schedule—is more efficient and less expensive than replacing them separately as they burn out. That’s because group re-lamping saves labor costs and improves lighting for members. Most managers replace bulbs as they burn out, but this approach wastes employees’ time. Every time a bulb burns out on your property, your maintenance staff must fill out a work order and replace the bulb.

Facts: A member of a condo association sued the association’s board of directors for breach of fiduciary duty and intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) and negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) after its delay in repairing common areas damaged her individual unit. The board asked a trial court to dismiss the member’s claims, which it did. The member appealed.

Decision: An Illinois appeals court upheld in part and reversed in part the decision of the trial court.

Facts: A townhome owner refused to pay assessments for four years. The owner claimed that the only entity that had the power to enforce the assessments—the homeowners association formed as a nonprofit corporation in 1981 (1981 Association) when the community was developed—had been dissolved years ago and hadn’t been reinstated, effectively meaning that no assessments on her home could be enforced by any other individual or entity. The current association put a lien on the property and sued the owner.

Q: Why is it important for a community association to have moving rules? What points should moving rules cover?

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is giving more flexibility to 55-and-over communities who wish to help families who have been affected by the hurricane. HUD recently issued guidance that allows communities who have designated themselves “housing for older persons” the flexibility to open up vacant units to evacuees of Hurricane Sandy under the age of 55, without jeopardizing the community's qualification for certain legal exemptions under the Fair Housing Act.

If you’re like most community association managers, you require contractors you’ve hired to prove that they’re licensed and insured and have any other necessary qualifications to work in the community. However, members sometimes want to hire their own contractors to perform work in their units. This can open up the association to liability. That’s because an association can be held liable if a member’s contractor or one of the contractor’s employees is injured or if another member is injured by the contractor’s subpar work.

Whether it’s for fun, exercise, environmental concerns, or in an effort to save on gas prices and car expenses, an increasing number of children and adults have been riding bicycles. Many of your association members or their children may ride their bikes within the community. While bicycling should be encouraged, it can also create liability for the association if you don’t set rules to improve safety for not only these cyclists, but also members who walk or drive there.

If you’re tired of sending multiple notices and fines to members who have violated parking rules, you may have considered booting illegally parked cars. Be aware that booting has its drawbacks. Members or renters whose cars get booted may sue the association, claiming that it doesn’t have the legal right to take that action. To avoid this, include a clause in the association’s parking contracts with members and renters that provide the explicit authority to boot cars that are parking in violation of your community’s parking rules.