HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - March 16, 2013
Published: Sat, 03/16/13
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Are HOAs Taking Security Too Far?
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In this week's tip, we discuss whether your
HOA should build a police force to begin
raiding owners' homes for rules violations.
OK, that's a joke. Sort of.
In January, the Illinois Supreme Court held
in Poris v. Lake Holiday Property Owners
Association that an HOA's hired security
officer could stop and issue a valid speeding
ticket against a home owner.
Here's some background. Kenneth Poris was
an owner in the 2,000-lot Lake Holiday
Property Owners Association in unincorporated
LaSalle County, Illinois, about 60 miles
southeast of Chicago.
The association hired a security chief and
employed several security officers, though
they're not allowed to carry firearms. It
also adopted a number of rules, including
one that prohibited owners from resisting
or obstructing the performance of a public
safety officer or refusing to comply with
an officer's lawful order; it also required
owners to comply with requests to see
identification, like a driver's license
and a member's amenity pass. Speed limits
within the HOA are set at 25 miles per hour,
and the rules set fines for various speed
limit violations.
On October 20, 2008, one of those security
officers clocked Poris going 34 mph on an
association road and pulled him over. Poris
objected to being detained, though the officer
told Poris he wasn't being detained; the
officer eventually issued Poris a speeding
citation.
Poris then sued to prevent enforcement of
the citation, arguing he felt unable to
leave the scene and "under arrest." He
later amended his complaint to argue that
the association's security rules at issue
were void because it didn't have the
authority to conduct such activities.
"The ... plaintiff's argument is that, in
creating its security department, the
association was unlawfully exercising
police powers that it had not been granted,
and was unlawfully empowering its employees
with police powers that they did not have,
so that any actions taken by the security
department were unlawful," the court
summarized.
The court didn't buy Poris's argument.
"...The Lake Holiday security officers only
stop and detain drivers for violating
association rules occurring on private
association property, and citations are
only issued to association members," the
court held. "The appellate court failed to
consider the association's enforcement of
its rules and regulations in the context
of its authority as a voluntary association
to enact and enforce those rules and
regulations... courts generally will not
interfere with the internal affairs of a
voluntary association absent mistake,
fraud, collusion or arbitrariness."
Translation: You voluntarily joined and
agreed to abide by the rules, Mr. Poris,
and the HOA's rules are reasonable in
the context of its management role.
You lose.
Find out what this means for your security
operations in our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/829.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
P.S. Thursday you can get up to date on best practices for
HOA and condo collections at our exclusive webinar.
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Smart HOAs Get Tenants on Their Side
In this week's tip, we provide insight on why and how to get tenants involved
in your community.Not sold on the idea of getting tenants involved in your
community? It's more important than you think.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Smart-HOAs-Get-Tenants-on-Their-Side.cfm
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Getting Tenants Invested in Your HOA
Experts are advising that HOAs work to get tenants more invested in their
community. Why is that wise, and how can you achieve that goal?We answer both
questions below.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Getting-Tenants-Invested-in-Your-HOA.cfm
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Understanding HOA Insurance: What's Subrogation?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "I was about to sign a contract with a new
security vendor when I discovered in the fine print that we would be waiving
subrogation against the security vendor in the event of an insured loss. The
association would be required to obtain an insurance certificate naming
the security vendor as an additional insured party on our policy.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Understanding-HOA-Insurance-Whats-Subrogation.cfm
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How Many HOA Units Can Owners Own?
With investors emerging as major players in the recovering real estate
market, some boards have wondered whether it's wise to let someone own more
than one unit in their association.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/How-Many-HOA-Units-Can-Owners-Own.cfm
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Should You Create Rules for Your HOA's Committees?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "We are a newly transitioned HOA. We have
finance, design review board, and buildings and grounds and need to include
communications, covenant enforcement, and temp committees. If anyone has
written the charter/rules for any of these committees, if you would share
your words and thoughts, I wouldn't have to reinvent the wheel."
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Should-You-Create-Rules-for-Your-HOAs-Committees.cfm
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