Tag: Common Areas

An owner sued an association for breach of contract and negligence after its tenant moved out because its unit was flooded with raw human sewage. An Indiana state court found a breach of contract but dismissed the negligence claim (Castleton Corner Owners Ass’n, Inc. v. Conroad Associates, L.P.). Here’s what you need to know about…

Depending on where you operate, you may have heard annual meeting debates about sustainable landscaping dating back at least a decade. “I’ve worked with clients who have made the change, and I’ve also worked with those who have said they’d never do it,” says Paul Grucza, director of education and client development at the Seattle-based…

Depending on where you operate, you may have heard annual meeting debates about sustainable landscaping dating back at least a decade. “I’ve worked with clients who have made the change, and I’ve also worked with those who have said they’d never do it,” says Paul Grucza, director of education and client development at the Seattle-based…

Regardless of where you’re located, or how long you’ve been in the business, the same types of problems tend to crop up over and over, don’t they?

It’s not the big emergencies that make you pull your hair out, but the everyday hassles that start to grate when you get lots of people living together in the same community. Things like pet issues. And smoking. And the other chronic niggling nuisances that, over time, become a real pain in the neck.

Which is why we’ve pulled together this Special Report specifically about managing these sorts of challenges.

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More than 60 percent of American states have legalized some form of marijuana since 1996, and the legislatures in many of the holdouts have recently considered doing so. Those states with legal marijuana have seen it rapidly commoditized, with new businesses such as delivery services cropping up and becoming a part of homeowners’ daily lives.

Not surprisingly, the proliferation of pot has begun to have repercussions for community association managers, both as property managers and employers. Whether you live in a state where marijuana is fully legal, partially legal, or on the cusp of some degree of legalization, you need to know what that means on the ground.

This Special Report takes an in-depth look at some of the most pressing marijuana-related issues for community association managers and their clients and provides expert guidance on how to mitigate the associated risks.

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The 2018 midterm elections saw three more states join the ranks of those allowing recreational or medical marijuana use, pushing the total number of states to more than 30. As legalization has spread, so, too, have owner complaints about their neighbors’ smoking — and the pressure on boards to use the nuisance provision in response.…

As more states legalize marijuana for recreational or medical use, more owners are voicing complaints about their neighbors’ weed smoking. Some associations are turning to the nuisance provisions in their governing documents in an attempt to prohibit or limit in-unit smoking, but that may not be the best option. The Nuisance Argument Second-hand smoke particularly…

From peacocks and pigs to turkeys and skunks, people seem to eat up stories about unusual animal aides. They’re often less amused, though, when their neighbors want community association rules bent for their service animals. A recent case out of Nevada illustrates the potentially steep costs for associations, board members, and management companies of hastily…

Polling shows more people than ever are concerned about climate change — and people have always been concerned about their bottom lines. Whether driven by environmental concerns, financial considerations, or both, owner interest in solar power is on the rise in many communities. And, while neighbors may have aesthetic and other objections, state laws might…

As nonsmokers become more assertive about their right not to breathe secondhand smoke, there has been increasing litigation over the issue of smoking in condominiums.

A recent California case is an example of this, and it may push boards to consider eliminating smoking in the common areas of condominium communities. Although the case involves an apartment complex, there are similarities with how smoking in condominiums has been litigated—and will continue to be litigated.