The first day of Spring and the recent sunshine and warm temperatures may have prompted you to start thinking about your Association’s Summer event calendar. If your Association’s list of events includes outdoor movie nights, concerts, or other performances, the Association may need to pay licensing fees. United States copyright laws protect composers, lyricists, music publishers, and movie producers and distributors, among others. Community associations that play music in recreational facilities, at festivals or at other events likely need to obtain the appropriate licenses to use the music. With few exceptions, showing movies also requires licensing. Continue Reading Community Association Summer Events: Licensing Your Music and Movie Use

County Court, where most collection cases are heard, tends to judge a case more by equity rather than the letter of the law. Each County Court Judge or Magistrate has their own interpretation of what is fair and reasonable. Thus, we must proceed with caution when going to trial, even if we know the law is on our side. Our first trial story took place last summer and illustrates this point.Continue Reading Trial Story 1

The Community Associations Institute (CAI) held its annual Law Seminar this year from February 22-24 in New Orleans.  All the attorneys from our office were able to attend and discuss current trends in HOA law with colleagues from around the country.  Topics this year included "Cyber Issues and Electronic Voting", "7 Deadly Fair Housing Sins of Community Associations", and "The Latest Trends in Rental Restrictions".  Much was learned and a good time was had by all.Continue Reading Attorneys Attend CAI Law Conference

HELLO all board members, homeowners, and those interested in HOA law.  As part of a regular feature on the blog, I will be posting a recap of an important (and hopefully interesting) issue that has been recently addressed by our office.  Since we find that the same issues tend to repeat themselves often, it is likely that you will read something your association has faced in the past.  I hope you find this feature both informational and entertaining.

This weeks topic: Who pays the deductible on the Association’s insurance policy?

A few weeks ago this question was posed to us by a mid-size condominium association following a water leak within a Member’s Unit.  Apparently the Member’s hot water heater burst, causing significant damage to the Unit’s drywall and flooring.  Shortly after the accident, the Member contacted the Association seeking to make a claim on its hazard insurance policy.  Since the Association’s policy covered the interior of the Member’s Unit, and the damages exceeded the policy’s $1,000 deductible, the Association agreed to file a claim with its insurer.  However, the Association did not know who should pay the deductible amount.
Continue Reading Who Pays the Insurance Deductible?

This past Sunday’s edition of the Denver Post featured an article on the delay homeowners associations are experiencing with the removal of holiday lights and decorations by owners.  The article states that due to the unusually harsh winter, associations are relaxing their normal enforcement of restrictive covenants that require decorations to be removed within 30…

Well, here we are, Ash Wednesday; past Martin Luther King’s birthday, President’s Day, and Mardi Gras, and some homeowners still have their Christmas and Hannukah decorations on their homes from those holiday celebrations. As we all know, many restrictive covenants specify a period of time following the specific holiday during which the decorations must be removed from the house. And yet, our weather has been such that, in many cases removing those decorations may not be done safely due to the onslaught of snow storms and the accumulation of snow, all of which seems to have been exacerbated by the regular weekend snow storms. Should the board nevertheless enforce those restrictive covenants and impose fines, or is there an alternative?Continue Reading What To Do About Those Holiday Decorations?

Occasionally, we’ll hear from an association’s board of directors about how proud they are that they haven’t had to raise assessments for some period of time – 10 years, plus or minus. Typically, they are touting what great stewards they have been of their members’ money, and how grateful the members should be. Oftentimes, the comments come in the heat of candidacies for election of members to the board of directors. Sometimes, they even wonder out loud why their members don’t appreciate the money saving efforts of the board. What they are missing follows.Continue Reading Not Increasing Assessments? Good For You – Or Is It?

Colorado community associations are making headlines.  A few weeks ago, a Pagosa Springs peace wreath made national news.  Our own Mark Payne weighed in on the topic on Denver’s Channel 7.  You can watch the newscast here.  The homeowner association later allowed the homeowner to keep the wreath on display for the holidays. 

Just this week, the family of an autistic child filed a lawsuit in federal district court against their homeowners association in Littleton, Colorado.  According to news reports, the homeowners seek approval of a six-foot privacy fence that they installed to help protect their eight-year-old son.  The lawsuit’s claims fall under the Fair Housing Act.

Continue Reading Community Associations in the News

The Jefferson County District Court ruled last week that a condominium association can prohibit smoking in their four-unit building.   The Heritage Hills #1 Condominium Owners Association amended its bylaws to ban smoking after an owner complained about smoke seeping into her unit.  The District Court upheld the bylaw change stating that second hand smoke "constitutes a nuisance"…