Tag: Fair Housing

More owners are interested in installing swim spas — basically a miniature pool they can use to swim in place against a current. “When I talk to colleagues around the country, these swim spas are really turning into an absolute phenomenon,” says Paul Grucza, principal with PDG and Associates, consultants for the association management industry.…

More owners are interested in installing swim spas — basically a miniature pool they can use to swim in place against a current. “When I talk to colleagues around the country, these swim spas are really turning into an absolute phenomenon,” says Paul Grucza, principal with PDG and Associates, consultants for the association management industry.…

Times change, but often community association rules don’t. If your rules get out of date, they could become a ticking time bomb representing unnecessary risk that could blow up at any moment into a costly lawsuit or dispute. “Rules should be reviewed on a regular basis, and, in my experience, they aren’t,” says Alan Garfinkel,…

Times change, but often association rules don’t. Here’s why and how your clients should conduct regular reviews of their rules. The Need for Review “Rules should be reviewed on a regular basis, and, in my experience, they aren’t,” says Alan Garfinkel, founding partner of Garfinkel Law, a full-service community association law firm in Florida. Regular…

U.S. Representatives Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) recently introduced the Securing Access to Finance Exterior Repairs (SAFER) in Condos Act of 2022 (H.R. 7532). The legislation would allow condo owners to finance special assessments with loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). But, if enacted, the law might not provide the…

U.S. Representatives Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) recently introduced the Securing Access to Finance Exterior Repairs (SAFER) in Condos Act of 2022 (H.R. 7532). The legislation would allow condo owners to finance special assessments with loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). But, if enacted, the law might not provide the…

A federal district court is allowing a former resident to pursue a lawsuit against an HOA and its management company alleging liability for an owner’s racial harassment. “The meat and potatoes of this case is really the hostile environment claim and whether the association and manager did enough to stop it,” says Kevin Hirzel, managing…

A federal district court is allowing a former resident to pursue a lawsuit against an HOA and its management company alleging liability for an owner’s racial harassment (Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, Inc. v. New). “The meat and potatoes of this case is really the hostile environment claim and whether the association and manager…

The Illinois Court of Appeals recently ruled that a condo association must provide only those accommodations that reduce the effects of a disability so that a requesting resident isn’t disadvantaged because of the disability. This standard proved too high of a hurdle in a recent discrimination lawsuit brought by a particularly litigious owner in a…

The federal Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA) exempts 55-and-older communities from the prohibition against familial status discrimination in housing. But some of these associations fail to comply with the law’s strict, and ongoing, legal requirements, leaving them vulnerable to discrimination claims. As an example, to qualify for the exemption from familial discrimination liability, a…