eAlerts

Community Associations Institute (CAI) has established a chapter in New York City. The Big Apple chapter will represent condominiums, cooperatives, and homeowners associations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. Dozens of community association leaders in New York and neighboring states banded together to lay the groundwork for the Big Apple chapter, which will be “in organization” until it meets CAI certification requirements, a process that generally takes two to three years. CAI has certified more than 60 chapters.

Community Associations Institute (CAI) members from around the country met in Washington, D.C., recently to address critical community association issues with officials at the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and key Congressional leaders.

With the holiday season approaching, you and your management staff may have talked about putting up themed displays or decorations, or hosting a community-wide holiday event to celebrate. But tread lightly when it comes to what types of displays or parties you should install or host—it could land you in trouble if members perceive that you’ve discriminated against any based on their religion.

It’s inevitable that over the years, you’ll have had some issues with association members who have made modifications to their homes without obtaining the necessary approval from the association. And as a result, you may also have been forced to handle concerns from suspicious members making calls to the management office to ask if particular neighbors have been granted approval by the architectural review committee for whatever project the neighbor happens to be working on. To resolve this, put association members on notice of approved projects in the community.

As Christmas approaches, many of your members will be setting up Christmas trees in their units. While a beautifully decorated tree can add to the holiday spirit and help create a fragrant indoor atmosphere, Christmas trees can also pose a serious fire hazard to members' condominiums as well as to your building. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, Christmas trees account for an average of 200 fires annually, resulting in six deaths, 25 injuries, and more than $6 million in property damage.

In August 2013, a Florida condominium association and its former management company agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a fair housing claim alleging that they enforced occupancy limits that discriminated against families with children.

Q: Like many associations, the association I manage performs a comprehensive annual audit. Is it okay to have a board member do it?

A Pine Canyon HOA must allow “For Sale” signs in the community, the Arizona Court of Appeals recently ruled, despite deed restrictions that ban them. The ruling trumps restrictions, and squelched the association’s argument that its pre-existing ban on such signs can remain despite a 2009 law to the contrary.

Luxury resort condominiums crumbled into a massive sinkhole a few miles from Disney World, displacing dozens of guests at the Summer Bay Resort in Clermont, Fla., some of whom had only a few minutes to escape the cracking building. The building that fell into the sinkhole is one of several at the private community, which is governed by a homeowner’s association. 

Q: During the summer months, more of our members use the outdoor amenities in the community, such as the pool and basketball courts. We’ve had to crack down on some of the behavior that we’ve seen in these areas, but because the nature of some of the behavior isn’t that serious, I’m tempted to let it go if it seems harmless. What types of risks does the association run if it fails to enforce rules consistently?