Last week Molly Foley-Healy alerted you to proposed PUC regulations that could impact towing in community associations. Earlier today a Call to Action was submitted to CAI members to alert them to these proposed changes. Click through the jump to see the Call to Action, and check back here frequently to keep abreast of legislation that can affect your community.Continue Reading PUC Regulation – A Call to Action
Fair Housing – Take a Look at Your Rules!
We are often asked to review rules and regulations for our clients during the cold winter months, before the community pool becomes the haven of unsupervised children running wild on summer break. Our clients are shocked when we advise them that their rules could cause problems under the federal Fair Housing Act.
It seems reasonable to impose rules limiting access to attractive nuisances like swimming pools, but some courts have held that rules restricting or limiting access to pools, clubhouses, and park facilities on the basis of age violate the Fair Housing Act’s prohibition against discrimination on the basis of familial status.Continue Reading Fair Housing – Take a Look at Your Rules!
How to be a Grinch
I’ll admit it, I’m something of a Grinch. I’m just not very good at putting up the holiday decorations that so many other people do so well. My neighborhood is having a holiday light competition. I haven’t managed to put up any lights, but if I were to put up anything, it would look like the house on the right:
The Armstrong family of Wellington’s house would look more like the one on the left – if they decided to go "low key." The Armstrongs have a tradition of an extraordinarily elaborate display, combined with holiday cheer for passersby and charitable giving for those less fortunate. The Fort Collins Coloradoan recently reported on their struggle to keep their light display in spite of their homeowners association’s objection.Continue Reading How to be a Grinch
Be Careful What Your Neighbors Surf For…
As community association attorneys, we are experienced in negotiating contracts with broadband service providers for our clients. These contracts allow the provider to enter a condominium’s common areas to install wiring and provide service to the individual units, as well as to undertake other activities related to these services. As a content creator, I value my intellectual property rights. As a computer geek who went to college in the time of Napster, I understand the inevitability of file sharing. I recently read this article discussing copyright protection activity by broadband service providers and thought, "Wow, I’m going to have a lot of work to do in a few years."
The article discusses the voluntary actions being taken by many large broadband service providers to discourage inappropriate file sharing and other copyright violations. It noted that many condominiums share internet service by a single central connection. This could mean that one flagrant violator with a habit of frequenting shady torrent sites could cause the internet for an entire condominium to be throttled back or even terminated.Continue Reading Be Careful What Your Neighbors Surf For…
Be Nice to Grumps!
Every Board member knows there are some people who are simply grumps. They enjoy creating a negative environment. While Board members are only human, it’s important to remember to treat grumps the same as any other member of the association. If a Board treats a grump differently, that Board could end up with a case of selective enforcement.
Selective enforcement occurs when a Board enforces a covenant against some, but not all members. This may happen when the Board intentionally takes an action due to a personal issue, as with a grump, or it may happen when a Board takes actions a prior Board neglected to take. Every situation is different, and what may seem like unequal treatment is not necessarily selective enforcement.Continue Reading Be Nice to Grumps!
Foreclosures and Liens – Some Basics
I recently worked with a client who had purchased a property at the sheriff’s sale on a homeowners association lien. We frequently take properties through this kind of judicial foreclosure, and so from my perspective, everything was pretty cut and dry. The client had a lot of questions, and I found myself discussing some basic rules of real property law. Today, I found this article about a purchaser of a property foreclosed on by an HOA, and decided it might be appropriate to set out some general information about liens and the effect of foreclosure.Continue Reading Foreclosures and Liens – Some Basics
After a Tragedy, the Inevitable Search for Deep Pockets
After the shooting of Travon Martin in February, association lawyers discussed the possibility that the Retreat at Twin Lakes Homeowners Association could face liability for the actions of George Zimmerman, a member of the HOA’s neighborhood watch.
It appears that Martin’s family will be making a claim against the HOA’s insurance policy, asserting they are owed at least $75,000.00. This indicates the Martins may intend to file a federal court suit against the insurance company. The policy’s limit is $1,000,000.00, but the big issues will be whether the policy provided coverage at the time of the shooting, and whether it covers the shooting at all.Continue Reading After a Tragedy, the Inevitable Search for Deep Pockets
You Can Lead a Horse to Water…
But you can’t make him drink. A lot of the work I do for my association clients requires me to counsel boards to take actions different from the actions they’d taken in the past. I advise them to enforce their covenants. I make sure they treat owners and residents as equally as possible, regardless of gender, age, race, affiliation, or personality conflicts. I work to dispel myths about owner’s rights and privacy.Continue Reading You Can Lead a Horse to Water…
Atypical associations are subject to CCIOA too!
I spent the last ten days in upstate New York, fishing, eating good food, drinking bad beer, and spending time with family and friends. I’m fortunate that I married into a family with a cottage on a good-sized lake near Canada. The walleye, crappie, pike, and bass were out in full force, and when they weren’t biting, I was tubing and swimming, trying to forget the teeth of the fish I’d caught earlier that day.
Continue Reading Atypical associations are subject to CCIOA too!
It’s Springtime! Let’s Paint the House Pink!
Ahhh, spring, when a young lawyer’s fancy turns to thoughts of…covenant enforcement.
I love covenant enforcement cases. In most situations, the owner who violated the documents has no defense and it’s up to the association to make sure the owner complies with the documents that govern his property. Sometimes it can be a headache, but it’s the Association’s legal duty to enforce these documents.
Not in your backyard? Enforce your covenants!
Some thoughts from your lawyer’s perspective to help ensure a successful covenant enforcement action:Continue Reading It’s Springtime! Let’s Paint the House Pink!