Month: May 2011

Facts: Organized in 1986, a Florida community is a mixed-use condominium with 810 residential units, 259 commercial units, and 141 retail units. The community's governing documents provide for a seven-member board of directors governing the association, with two members each elected by the residential unit members, the commercial unit members, and the retail unit members, and the seventh member elected-at-large.

Facts: An African-American couple bought a condominium in 2004 as a rental property investment. When the bylaws were amended in 2007, the couple sued the association and its individual board members, alleging housing discrimination. The couple claimed that the association's new leasing restrictions had a negative impact on the availability of rental housing for minorities and other protected classes in the area.

The high-profile owner of a collection of penthouses in a luxury condominium building in New York City's SoHo neighborhood has created a controversy with his refusal to pay nearly $40,000 in common area maintenance (CAM) charges the condo board claims he owes.

From time to time, there will be conflicts within your community. When there's a dispute between or among members, or between members and the association or its directors, the board will have to determine the best strategy for a resolution.

Q A disabled member asked the board to allow his car to be permanently parked in a guest parking space as a reasonable accommodation, after the board asked him to remove the car. The car has not been moved in two years. It has an expired inspection sticker and is, therefore, inoperable. Under the reasonable accommodation provisions of the Fair Housing Act (FHA), are we required to grant him this request?