It's come down to this: In this week's tip, we're addressing fighting over owners who are walking in their own neighborhood.
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "A neighbor complains because other neighbors walking at night for exercise set off their home security system with alerts multiple times. Should the HOA board get involved?"
For the most part, our experts say that if residents are walking in common areas, where they have every right to walk, this board should stay out of this conflict.
"This reader is saying neighbors are walking—walking!" states Edward Hoffman Jr., the founder of Hoffman Law LLC, a two-office law firm based in Pennsylvania, who has represented community associations for more than 21 years.
"That's not the neighbors' problem," he adds. "They're allowed to walk outside. My guess is they're not doing cartwheels right in front of this owner's front door. I think this owner has unreasonable expectations.
"Aside from telling owners to turn down the sensitivity of their alarm system or limiting the scope of the box of the motion sensing for the camera lens, what's the other option?" he asks. "Is the board supposed to tell neighbors to not walk by units 111, 214, and 332 because they have security systems?
Phaedra J. Howard, CCAL, a partner specializing in community association law at Hellmuth & Johnson PLLC in Edina, Minn., agrees. "I'd say no," she says. "Obviously, if owners need board approval to install a security system or to put cameras on the outside of their home, boards would get involved only as far
as they need to on design issues. But if someone is walking in the common elements, they have every right to do that.