HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - December 4, 2020
Published: Fri, 12/04/20
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Condo Board: Mask Up or Pay a Whopper of a Fine
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In this week's tip, we weigh the wisdom of a Chicago condo's proposal to require masks in common areas and impose a hefty fine for those who don't comply.
The Plaza on DeWitt, a 407-unit condo in Chicago's tony Streeterville, reportedly considered a rule requiring all residents and visitors two years old and up to wear masks in common areas. The kicker? Violators would get hit with a $500 fine, an amount that would double for each subsequent violation, according to WGN News.
The condo's on-site manager declined to comment on where the potential rule stands, stating that she'd refer the question to a supervisor.
The question for our experts: Have their communities mulled a similar move? If so, what's been their advice? And what about that whopper of a fine—is it enforceable?
Our experts say they've fielded calls from clients about whether they can impose a mask mandate on residents and visitors. In fact, that's exactly what some of Jennifer Horan's clients have done.
"Most of them at some point during the pandemic did adopt an emergency rule requiring masks at least in the common elements," reports the shareholder in the Naples, Fla., office of Becker & Poliakoff, who has represented condos and HOAs for more than 15 years. "No one really talked about whether mask mandates in units were appropriate."
Horan says those boards did catch some flack. "There definitely was pushback, especially the longer we've been in this pandemic," she says. "There wasn't as much in the beginning, but the more localities that are lifting their requirements for masks, the more pushback we're getting."
Still, she adds, most of her clients are holding firm on their mask rules, though a $500 fine wouldn't be acceptable under Florida law. "Fines for violators under Florida condo law are so much harder to enforce," she explains. "That requires an independent fining committee, 14 days' notice, and more.
"Also, our condos can't fine $500 per violation," says Horan. "That would have been against the condo act in Florida. HOAs can do that if their documents allow it. But if a client had asked me about such a fine, I'd have been particularly concerned about that fine for one mask violation.
"A lot of my clients didn't do fines for this rule," she states. "In fact, I don't know of any. The way the law is structured, a lot of them have a hard time with that lengthy of a process for a mask violation."
Several other of our experts are wary of boards imposing a mask mandate, for a number of reasons. Find out why, and what they think of that eye-popping fine, in our new article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4240.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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The 9 Most Pressing Issues for Condo/HOA Boards In the New Year
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Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Drones-As-Inspectors-Should-Condos-HOAs-Worry.cfm
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Don't Get Burned Trying to Embarrass Condo/HOA Board Candidates
We offer guidance on smart ways to ask board candidates questions that will be helpful to homeowners and not gotcha questions for candidates. It starts with an HOAleader.com reader question: "Our current board created a new board candidate form that asks about prior service and reason for leaving if you've served before. Is that legal/ethical? I've never seen such questions in my five years in HOA community nor can I find any examples that include such questions doing online search."
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/CondoHOA-Elections-Good-Bad-Questions-for-Potential-Candidates.cfm
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