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Short-term rental arrangements continue to plague community associations, with owners and powerful lobbying groups for companies like Airbnb constantly devising new tactics for avoiding restrictions. “With Airbnb and those platforms becoming such a huge percentage of rentals,” says Jennifer Biletnikoff, a shareholder in the Naples, Fla., office of Becker & Poliakoff, “we’re going to see…

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many community associations have turned to virtual or telephonic meetings, but some have run into members who object. A recent ruling by a New York state court provides some reassurance that your clients have some wiggle room when it comes to strict adherence to annual meeting requirements amidst…

When community association boards of directors get frustrated with “bad owners,” some turn to defamation lawsuits to rein them in. But is that an effective strategy? Our experts and two recent court cases — one out of Texas and the other New York — shed some light. Trouble in Texas The Texas case stemmed from…

Community association managers can help prove their worth by prompting their clients to tackle an issue many probably haven’t considered — continuity planning. Almost every association and manager have certain board members they rely most heavily on, often long-standing members with impressive amounts of both institutional and practical knowledge. What happens if one of those…

We're willing to bet that very few of your clients' budgets are on track for 2020, and figuring out how to adjust and plan for 2021 is complicated. “We’re looking at all those odd pieces, the additional costs associations have borne since March,” says Paul Grucza, director of education and client development at the Seattle-based…

The Kentucky Court of Appeals has rejected a community association owner’s arguments in yet another battle over owners’ right to use their homes as short-term rentals. The court’s ruling, based on a recent decision by the state’s Supreme Court, could provide some useful guidance for your clients that would like to implement enforceable restrictions on…

A federal Court of Appeals recently ruled that a community association manager wasn’t a “debt collector” for purposes of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which strictly regulates the conduct of general debt collectors. (Bates v. Green Farms Condominium Ass’n, 6th Cir. 2020). But managers shouldn’t take too much comfort in the decision because…

A Texas Court of Appeals has found that the failure to enforce a subdivision’s restrictive covenants constituted an abandonment of the restrictions as a whole — despite the fact that the covenants included a severability provision intended to protect the other provisions if one or more were struck down as unenforceable. (Densmore v. McCarley, Tex.…

It’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month — are you, your employees, and your boards of directors aware of community associations’ risks from phishing attacks? If not, or if proper precautions aren’t taken, your clients and their owners could lose control of their confidential information. And the risks are even higher if you have staff working from…

The Fair Housing Act may prohibit racial discrimination, but a surprising number of community associations’ deed covenants still contain racial restrictions — and some of your clients could be among them. With civil rights a mainstay in the media since the death of George Floyd in May 2020, associations with such restrictions should take action…