eAlerts

A no-pet policy. An owner who requests an emotional support animal (ESA). Another owner with severe pet allergies. What’s your client to do? A recent ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court demonstrates just how dicey this situation can be — even when a board tries its best to accommodate everyone. The case involved tenants in…

Properly operating elevators rank near the top of the most important  — and most visible —equipment in a community association. Yet some communities sign standard service contracts without giving the terms much thought. “One of the biggest mistakes across the board with associations is not having a lawyer look over the elevator contracts,” says Jennifer…

Poor recordkeeping can undermine the results of even the most amiable and productive board or membership meeting. When a meeting is contentious, insufficient records can prove even more disastrous. A community in Pennsylvania learned that the hard way. A trial court described the community as mired in utter chaos, nonstop disagreement, and a continuing power struggle…

A third-party security guard who slipped and fell on a puddle while on duty sued the Georgia condo association where she was working. The association doesn’t have its own employees, so it hires third-party contractors to perform the necessary functions. For example, in May 2012, it retained Sizemore Security Services to provide “safety officers” for…

Some associations with the word “plantation” in their names are struggling with pushes among their owners to change their communities’ names. The issue primarily is arising in the southern part of the United States, largely in response to the killing of George Floyd in 2020. “We’ve had a rash of associations dealing with this,” says…

An Ohio HOA recently learned the hard way that discrimination lawsuits arising out of pet restrictions aren’t limited to disability-related claims. That’s one lesson from the association’s attempts to remove a pig from its premises; the other is that poorly worded restrictions can backfire. “I’ve seen disputes with atypical pets, but it’s usually when there’s…

Can a condo board ever end up liable to the prospective buyer of a unit after the deal didn’t go through? It apparently could in New York. A state court there allowed such a lawsuit to proceed against a board that didn’t exercise its right of first refusal but allegedly also didn’t provide a document…

A management company’s ability to form positive, productive relationships with competent and reliable vendors can make or break its ability to deliver for its client associations. From landscapers, pool service companies, and maintenance firms to attorneys, accountants, and insurance agents or brokers, here’s how to form and maintain successful relationships with your vendors. Due diligence…

Want to reduce your administrative headaches while boosting your client satisfaction and, in turn, retention? Going paperless might be for you. From maintaining minutes and managing violations to collecting dues and processing invoice payments, community association managers increasingly are finding their mundane but mandatory tasks are made easier once they shift to a digital way…

An owner sued an association for breach of contract and negligence after its tenant moved out because its unit was flooded with raw human sewage. What happened? The owner in the case leased its building to retailer Pier 1; the lease was set to expire in February 2016, but Pier 1 had the option to…