What Should You Do When Neighbors Behave Badly?

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Published: 07 October 2019

If an owner’s behavior is affecting others’ ability to enjoy their home, the board is responsible for getting involved and remedying the situation.

First, a board should investigate the complaints being made. Board members should look to their community’s governing documents to determine what rules apply to the situation at hand. They should also look at what action the board is allowed to take in response.

Before taking action, a board should first consider meeting with the misbehaving owner to discuss community living etiquette. During this meeting, the board can explain community rules to the owner, who may just need some guidance. This could help to avoid creating hostility between the board and the owner.

If this fails, the board can take any actions authorized by its governing documents to resolve the conflict.

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Can an HOA Give Out Residents’ Email Addresses?

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Published: 02 October 2019

An association is not authorized to share, distribute or publish private information to the public relating to its members.

For most states, nonprofit codes will advise what personal contact records an association is required to keep, but this information should never be voluntarily distributed to third parties without member consent.

The risk is that an association cannot control how released contact information will be handled. Third parties could easily use this information to make deals for advertising purposes, to release private ownership information, or to jeopardize the member’s safety.

Member information should always be presented as an opt-in scenario, in which the members can take affirmative steps to share their information, instead of an opt-out in which the information is given by the association, and members have to take steps to remove that information.

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Recent court decisions may help to reduce meritless condo lawsuits

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Published: 24 September 2019

Litigation by unit owners against condo associations is fairly common. Regardless of the claims’ merit, boards often find themselves having to expend significant resources to defend against claims or to avoid potential litigation. However, recent case law may help reduce the number of meritless claims that associations have to defend against.

In 1618 Sheridan Rd. Condominium Association v. Marshall Spiegel, a Cook County Circuit judge imposed a $1 million sanction against a lawyer and his client for filing a frivolous lawsuit. This penalty against the owner may help to deter other frivolous lawsuits.

Additionally, in Georgia Peters v. The Royalton Condominium Homes, Inc. the court refused to set a precedent that would require associations to exercise a higher standard to discover defects or dangers on their property. In this case, a member of an association was struck by another member's vehicle in the parking lot. It seemed like a simple personal injury case, until the Plaintiff raised 18 allegations of negligence against the association.

The Plaintiff claimed the association failed to properly address safety concerns in a parking lot. The court found that the Plaintiff “was in the best position to prevent the injury and placing a burden on the defendant to guard against the negligence of others ‘would place an intolerable burden on society.’”

While associations should always act to mitigate any potential safety issues on community property, this decision may help to prevent them from being held to unreasonable standards.

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Who is Responsible for Pet Waste Pickup?

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Published: 16 September 2019

Generally, common expenses must be assessed against all owners. However, a dog pickup service is an example of a common expense that only applies to specific owners.

While all owners would benefit from a pet waste free living space, it does not make sense to charge all owners, or even, all pet owners.

Charging dog owners for certain expenses can be complicated, especially when owners’ dogs will vary in number, size, and duration of stay in the building. Calculating charges could quickly become messy. 

The best approach is to encourage responsible pet ownership by providing easy access doggy pickup bags and disposal containers.

Read more here.