Community Association Governance

Sometimes, Accommodations Aren’t Legally Required

When a resident requests a reasonable accommodation, boards of directors often focus solely on the reasonableness of the specific accommodation. But, if an accommodation isn’t necessary, a board doesn’t even need to consider reasonableness. A recent disability discrimination case in Ohio provides a useful example of how that can play out in an association’s favor.…
Community Association Financials

Don’t Let Your Clients Lose the Lien Race

Community associations often drag their feet when it comes to filing liens against delinquent owners. The reluctance can be understandable — who, for example, wants to take such a step against a neighbor who has lost a job or racked up medical bills? But this reluctance can prove costly, as one Nevada association recently learned…
Community Association Governance

FHA Doesn’t Require HOA to Allow Personal Patio Grills

When a resident requests a reasonable accommodation, boards of directors often focus solely on the reasonableness of the specific accommodation. But, if an accommodation isn’t necessary, a board doesn’t even need to consider reasonableness. A recent disability discrimination case in Ohio provides a useful example of how that can play out in an association’s favor…
Community Association Governance

Could Rental Restrictions Be in Your Association’s Future?

A new law that significantly limits rental restrictions in California community associations took effect Jan. 1, 2021. Among other things, California Civil Code Section 4741 imposes a deadline on associations in the state to amend their governing documents to comply with its provisions. While the law applies only to California associations, the state often is…
Community Association Governance

HUD Charges Association, Manager with Disability Discrimination Over Dog Policy

How many assistance animals must an association with pet restrictions allow as a reasonable accommodation? If the answer seems obvious to you or a client, you might be surprised by a recent charge against an association and its manager by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The charge is startling evidence of…
Communications

Qualified Privilege Protects Board Member, Manager from Defamation Claims

We recently wrote about community association board members’ attempts to rein in “bad owners” by filing defamation lawsuits against them. But what about when the tables turn, and an owner pursues defamation allegations against board members or managers? The Michigan Court of Appeals recently upheld a lower court’s dismissal of just such an action, finding…
Community Association Governance

Watch Out For Familial Discrimination Claims

JoAnn Burnett, an attorney in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office of Becker & Poliakoff who focuses her practice on fair housing and discrimination claims, says familial discrimination trips up many associations. “They have provisions in the governing documents — especially rules and restrictions but also in declarations — regarding children,” she says. “Even if not…
Community Association Governance

California Limits HOA Rental Restrictions

A new law that significantly limits rental restrictions in California community associations took effect Jan. 1, 2021. Among other things, California Civil Code Section 4741 imposes a deadline on associations in the state to amend their governing documents to comply with its provisions. While the law applies only to California associations, the state often is…
Crime & Security

More Remote Work Means More Risks for Associations

The many domino effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing recession include not only an increase in the number of people performing their current jobs from home, rather than at an office or other workplace, but also a surge in the number of home-based businesses. With so many people looking to replace lost income,…
Community Association Governance

Help Your Clients Avoid Stumbling into Fair Housing Problems, Part 2

We recently shared some ways that community associations can unexpectedly find themselves liable under federal and state fair housing laws. Here are few more missteps our experts have identified as potentially risky. Inadvertent Familial Discrimination JoAnn Burnett, an attorney in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office of Becker & Poliakoff who focuses her practice on fair…