Pets, Your HOA, and ADA/FHA Guidelines (Utah Law)
We all know someone whose dog or cat is much more than just a pet. Well, for purposes of the Fair Housing Act, they may be right. Community associations must be careful as they adopt rules and regulations regarding animal restrictions, because it is easy to run afoul of federal laws like the Fair Housing Act (FHA) or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), that provide homeowners with...
Budget Time
Budget time is upon us, and boards are trying to figure out how to collect past-due assessments so they can meet the association’s budget. Here are a few tips to make sure that you can collect assessments:
1. Make sure you know who owns the property. When you send notices that assessments are due, or even late, you want to make sure you are sending the notice to the owner. If there has been a...
Responding to HOA Records Requests in Arizona
HOAs and community managers receive requests for records and information almost daily. In this day where an HOA’s management team has limited resources, especially time, records and information requests need to be treated appropriately and efficiently. What is an Arizona HOA’s responsibility to respond to requests for records and information from its homeowners?
HOA document requests are...
Oregon Foreclosure Update
Oregon community associations enjoy statutory lien rights when owners fail to pay assessments. When a delinquent owner is insolvent and unemployed, an association’s best chance to recover unpaid assessments may be to enforce its lien rights against the property in a judicial foreclosure action. Although foreclosure is usually not the first option, it is a useful tool in certain circumstances...
Special Assessments
Two of the words most dreaded by community associations are special assessments. When you purchase property governed by a community association, you agree to be subject to the governing documents of the association. The governing documents, usually the declaration or bylaws, give the association the power to levy and collect assessments. In most cases, there are specific provisions that...
Solar Energy, HOAs, and HB 3516
In 2012, new legislation went into effect in Oregon involving the installation of solar energy systems on residential and commercial buildings. House Bill 3516 (2011 Oregon Laws Ch. 464, codified at ORS 215.439 and ORS 227.505) was enacted with the purpose of facilitating the installation and use of solar energy systems. The new law makes solar energy an “outright permitted use” in residential...
Solar Energy, HOAs, and HB 3516 (Oregon Law)
In 2012, new legislation went into effect in Oregon involving the installation of solar energy systems on residential and commercial buildings. House Bill 3516 (2011 Oregon Laws Ch. 464, codified at ORS 215.439 and ORS 227.505) was enacted with the purpose of facilitating the installation and use of solar energy systems. The new law makes solar energy an “outright permitted use” in residential...
Lessons In Democracy From Russia:
Recently I started reading an interesting survey of homeowner associations in Russia. Don’t worry, it’s not required reading for U.S. managers and directors. But Rosa Vihavainen’s book homeowners’ Associations in Russia After the 2005 Housing Reform has a lot to say about both the challenges facing Russian HOAs and how Russians are solving those problems. Many of the problems facing Russian...
Review of Homeowners’ Associations in Russia After the 2005 Housing Reform (Idaho Law)
Recently I started reading an interesting survey of homeowner associations in Russia. Don’t worry, it’s not required reading for U.S. managers and directors. But Rosa Vihavainen’s book Homeowners’ Associations in Russia After the 2005 Housing Reform has a lot to say about both the challenges facing Russian HOAs and how Russians are solving those problems. Many of the problems facing Russian...
Architectural Control Provisions
When responding to an owner’s request for approval related to construction, maintenance, or repair of their lot or unit, it is best not to delay. A court may consider or view you as an “Ostrich,” with its head in the sand, and might deem the owner’s request as approved – even if the request violates express restrictive covenants. Many HOAs have architectural restrictions to protect the value...