Facts: Organized in 1986, a Florida community is a mixed-use condominium with 810 residential units, 259 commercial units, and 141 retail units. The community's governing documents provide for a seven-member board of directors governing the association, with two members each elected by the residential unit members, the commercial unit members, and the retail unit members, and the seventh member elected-at-large.

Facts: An African-American couple bought a condominium in 2004 as a rental property investment. When the bylaws were amended in 2007, the couple sued the association and its individual board members, alleging housing discrimination. The couple claimed that the association's new leasing restrictions had a negative impact on the availability of rental housing for minorities and other protected classes in the area.

The high-profile owner of a collection of penthouses in a luxury condominium building in New York City's SoHo neighborhood has created a controversy with his refusal to pay nearly $40,000 in common area maintenance (CAM) charges the condo board claims he owes.

From time to time, there will be conflicts within your community. When there's a dispute between or among members, or between members and the association or its directors, the board will have to determine the best strategy for a resolution.

Q A disabled member asked the board to allow his car to be permanently parked in a guest parking space as a reasonable accommodation, after the board asked him to remove the car. The car has not been moved in two years. It has an expired inspection sticker and is, therefore, inoperable. Under the reasonable accommodation provisions of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), are we required to grant him this request?

Facts: The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and a community's developer filed a lawsuit against the master association and its board of directors for leasing restrictions the association adopted. The community consists of single-family homes, townhomes, and two-flat condominium buildings.

Association boards are filled with people from all walks of life. And although the volunteer position offers no financial compensation, board members have considerable responsibilities. They are basically in charge of running a “business” with all the same attention paid to revenues, expenses, and assets. On top of carrying out the association's administrative duties, board members have to be concerned with exposing themselves to one of the perils of their position—the potential for conflicts of interest.

A community in El Dorado County, Calif., has historically allowed some sport shooting. But when one board member wanted to change that, he started the process to change the governing documents to completely ban the discharge of firearms and air guns and eliminate all target and other shooting throughout the gated equestrian community.

Facts: A member's condominium was substantially damaged by a fire. The governing documents required the member to appoint the association as attorney-in-fact to interact with the insurer regarding the coverage of the fire damage. A contractor was subsequently engaged to perform the necessary repairs. And the association was to oversee the contractor to ensure that the work was completed.

Many associations have struggled with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) restrictions related to rentals within a community. Associations often seek FHA approval so that units for sale, whether through foreclosure or otherwise, may be sold to individuals who have obtained FHA financing.