HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - July 15, 2016
Published: Fri, 07/15/16
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Here’s What Happens When You’re Loose With Your Building’s Access
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In this week’s tip, we tell you about a Minnesota court ruling challenging a condo association’s practice of allowing police unfettered access to common areas.
In Minnesota v. Luhm, police got a tip that two condo residents, Mindy Steinmetz and her boyfriend Stuart Luhm, were major pot dealers and had been robbed of about 25 pounds of dope and $15,000 in cash recently, according to the May 31, 2016, appellate court opinion.
They lived in a condo unit owned by Luhm’s mother on the third floor of a four-story building with no receptionist or guard. The building manager had previously left a building key in a lockbox attached to the wall in the building’s foyer for local police. According to the opinion, all Minnetonka police officers had a key that would open that lockbox.
Two officers showed up at the building with a drug-sniffing dog—but no warrant to enter the building—and used the lockbox key to enter the building. They took the dog to the third-floor hallway, and it dog “alerted” outside the Luhm unit door. The police officers then got a warrant to search the unit. When the police conducted that search, they found “large quantities of” pot, 93 oxycodone tablets, 7 firearms, and 2 bullet-resistant vests.
Luhm sought to have the search invalidated arguing the police officers unlawfully entered the building without a warrant and that there was no probable cause to allow the dog to sniff outside the unit. Specifically, Luhm contended the property management company didn’t have the authority to permit warrantless entry, that it exceeded the scope of its authority by giving police an overly broad license to enter the building, and that the officers’ use of the key to enter the building wasn’t justified by any emergency.
The court held the defendant had no expectation of privacy in the condo’s common hallway, even though the building was secured from the public. The court also held the property management company had given police consent to enter, and even if it didn’t have the authority to give that consent, the police officers reasonably believed the management company had that authority. The court upheld Luhm’s convictions on all counts.
Minnesota community association lawyer Phaedra J. Howard, a partner at Hellmuth & Johnson PLLC in Eden Prairie, says she hasn’t heard of clients leaving keys for first responders, but she has unanswered questions after having read the court’s opinion. Find out why, and the risks of allowing first responders unrestricted access to your association, in our new article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1401.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Leaving an HOA Building Key for First Responders: Here's One Outcome
A Minnesota court has ruled that a condo owner had no expectation of privacy in the hallway of his condo association--even though the police entered the condo by using a key left by the manager for emergencies. Here we explain the case, and our experts discuss whether they'd advise a board to leave a key so local authorities can access their private community.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Leaving-HOA-Building-Key-for-First-Responders-Heres-One-Outcome.cfm
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What If Your New Policy Contradicts Your HOA's Bylaws?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "Our association recently created an accommodation policy for support animals (as we've been told is required by law) that contradicts our current bylaw that states 'no owner can house any type of animal.' Is it required that we amend/change our bylaw, or can we continue to have a policy that contradicts a bylaw?"
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-Your-New-Policy-Contradicts-Your-HOAs-Bylaws.cfm
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What Are HOA District Reps and Delegates?
Sunrise Ridge HOA in Wonder Lake, Ill., lists in its newsletter its board members, along with eight "district representatives" and six "delegates." Here we discuss what owners who serve in those positions do, and our experts talk about the pros and cons of creating such positions.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-Are-HOA-District-Reps-Delegates.cfm
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Owners Violating Pet Rules? How to Simplify Your HOA's Pet Policies and Enforcement
Join us for a must-attend webinar on August 4 on how to create smart--and enforceable--pet regulations at your HOA. You'll hear two community association lawyers with decades of hands-on experience in advising associations share their best advice.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/products/simplify-hoa-pet-policies-enforcement-a.cfm
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HOAs to Owners: Learn to Read!
In this week's tip, we discuss how you can reduce the number of rules violations at your HOA. We asked several of our experts whether they think encouraging community association members to be familiar with governing documents will reduce violations.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/public/HOAs-Owners-Learn-Read.cfm
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