Community associations generally prefer that members occupy their own units, rather than lease them to others. But why is it a good idea to limit the leasing of units? Limiting your members’ ability to lease units can keep your community easier for you and your staff to manage on a day-to-day basis and can have…

Q: As a community association manager, what can I ask a job applicant about drug and alcohol use without facing a discrimination lawsuit? A: You must be very careful if you have 15 or more employees. While you want a workplace free of drug- and alcohol-related problems, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) bars companies…

Upon completion of the 2012 Community Association Managers Survey, you will be entered into a drawing for a $100 American Express gift card! The survey asks about how overhead expenses are straining your community’s purse strings, and will take approximately 5 to 6 minutes to complete. Your answers will be treated confidentially and will never…

Facts: A planned unit development (PUD) zoning ordinance established a residential community with a homeowners association. The association's declaration had a restrictive covenant banning members from operating businesses from their homes. The association later discovered that two members were running day care businesses in their homes, which violated the restrictive covenant in the declaration.

Q Is there any benefit to knowing about new on-site employees' preexisting injuries? How can I get this information?

Natural disasters are frightening for any homeowner, but they're an even greater threat to clustered, attached, and stacked homes in a community association. When one home is damaged, others connected to it are more likely to experience damage either resulting from that home's damage or because of greater exposure to weather conditions.

Seventeen top community association professionals from around the state have been elected to the 2012 board of directors for the California Association of Community Managers (CACM). Charged with establishing and overseeing the statewide association's programs and policies, the board upholds CACM's code of ethics and standards of practice. The group also serves as an advisory body for CACM's educational and certification program for community managers.

Q What common fair housing problems arise from community rules?

A In general, community rules trigger fair housing problems in one of two ways—either the rules are enforced unfairly or the rules themselves are unfair.

With the presidential and other elections approaching, members may want to show their support for a candidate by posting signs on their lawns and porches, or putting posters or decals in their windows. But you don't want to end up with front yard “sign farms” that look unsightly. You also don't want a sign war between neighbors who have opposing viewpoints on political issues and post certain signs just to irritate their neighbors. All of that diminishes property values and looks tacky.

Facts: A husband and wife who owned a home in a luxury planned community sued the homeowners association for negligence after their house was burglarized twice. They claimed that the association owed the owners a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe, and breached that duty by failing to hire a security guard, have monitored gates, and maintain street lights.