If you follow news stories on homeowners’ associations (“HOAs”), you may have seen coverage on the uproar created by the Sutton Lakes Homeowners Association in Jacksonville, Florida that has asked a resident to remove a sign that simply says Jesus. Evidently, the governing documents of the HOA only permit “For Sale” and “For Rent” signs in the community.

While Colorado law prohibits HOAs from banning the display of political signs, other types of signs can be prohibited through use restrictions found in a declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions or through rules and regulations. The question is not whether an association has the authority to restrict signage; the question is whether these types of restrictions make sense for your community.Continue Reading Use Restrictions and Rules Should Fit the Community

A Florida homeowners association recently decided to waive $20,000 in fines accumulated by a homeowner who abandoned her property to her lender.  It appears that owner Linda Conti overestimated her ability to purchase the home, and planned to turn the property over to the bank with a deed in lieu of foreclosure.  She moved out before the bank took title, and as a result the property’s front lamp was left unlit for over a year.  This violated the association’s covenants, and the association levied a $50.00 fine every day, resulting in $20,000 in fines and several thousand dollars in attorneys’ fees.

 Continue Reading Dim-Witted HOA Finally Sees the Light

I don’t watch NASCAR, in spite of my vaguely southern roots.  I prefer sports with more action and bloodshed – like homeowners association meetings.  Todd Bodine is a NASCAR driver, an HOA member, and apparently a fan of tiki huts and pool houses.  Bodine constructed a tiki hut and pool house on his property, and after four years of dispute and litigation, the North Carolina Supreme Court sided with his Association.  The Association claimed the hut and house were not approved, and had to be removed.

Continue Reading Even NASCAR Drivers Don’t Get to Cut Corners for HOA Approval

WBTV News in Charlotte, North Carolina reported yesterday on an ugly dispute in a homeowners’ association (“HOA”) over removing a pot-bellied pig from the community. The feud escalated to a point where the owner of the pig posted an entry on her Facebook page with a picture of her pig and “an image of a gun with a backward facing barrel with words “Made especially for HOA Board Members,” according to a report last week from deputies.” Continue Reading Do Your Governing Documents Address Pot-Bellied Pigs?

Summertime and the living is easy . . . unless you are a community association manager or board member in a homeowners’ association (“HOA”) dealing with violations of covenants, rules and regulations or architectural guidelines. It can be extremely frustrating to receive constant complaints on alleged violations, to send out letters to owners informing them of a violation and requesting their compliance – only to be repeatedly ignored. Sometimes the only option left is to “motivate” these individuals to come into compliance by the imposition of a fine. But before a fine is imposed, make sure that your HOA is compliant with Colorado law. 

The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”), at C.R.S. 38-33.3-209.5(2), addresses the parameters that HOAs must comply with prior to imposing a fine. Here’s what you need to know:Continue Reading Before Imposing Fines – Make Sure Your Ducks Are in a Row

11News recently reported on a condominium association in Grand Junction that has evidently made it difficult for a 96 year old resident to receive delivery of oxygen tanks which are critical to her health and well-being. 

Ms. Metcalfe claims that the homeowners’ association (“HOA”) is no longer permitting her oxygen tanks to be delivered through the front entrance of the association. As a result, she is forced to travel down 3 flights of stairs to receive her delivery from the garage entrance. Ms. Metcalfe claims that she has already taken a serious fall trying to get down to the garage. She told 11News that “I did fall, and I injured my head, my hip, my knee.” She was subsequently hospitalized for treatment of her injuries.Continue Reading Condo Association Makes Delivery of Oxygen Tank Difficult for Elderly Resident

With the sun finally heating up Colorado, so are the architectural requests by residents in homeowners’ associations (“HOAs”). Like solar panels and windmills, Colorado law regulates unreasonable restrictions by HOAs on “energy efficiency measures.”

The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”), at C.R.S. 38-33.3-106.7, defines an energy efficiency measure as “a device or structure that reduces the amount of energy derived by fossil fuels that is consumed by a residence or business located on real property.” CCIOA specifically limits “energy efficiency measures” to include only the following items and devices:Continue Reading Awnings and Shutters and Clotheslines – Oh My!