HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - April 12, 2019
Published: Fri, 04/12/19
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Should You Simply Ignore Angry Condo/HOA Owners?
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We report on a hot topic at a recent gathering of community association lawyers in this week’s tip: How to address the anger that seems to be escalating at community associations?
One lawyer said that she recommends clients have a form response for some owners’ communications: “We’ve received your email, and you won’t receive further communication from the board.”
Is that OK? Are there other tactics that might work better?
It’s rare, but your state may have enacted a law that allows you some leverage in addressing owners who aren’t simply complainers but have veered over the line into becoming harassers.
Barbara Holland, CPM, regional manager for FirstService Residential in Las Vegas, notes that her state has had a law since 2013 that could help boards out; some associations have even added its language to their governing documents. Holland calls it the “bully law.”
NRS 116.31184 prohibits threats, harassment, and other conduct that would cause harm or serious emotional stress or create a hostile environment at a community association. A violation is a misdemeanor that carries a possible $5,000 fine and one year in prison.
Holland says several of her clients have inserted its language into their rules and regulations so that owners conducting harassment campaigns can be subject not just to state law but to an association violation and fined for their behavior.
“If your state law has something that governs associations and harassment, or even if the law isn’t specific to HOAs but is related to harassment, modify it and include it in your rules and regulations,” advises Holland. “Make it wide open, applying it to managers, board members, residents, and vendors. Then you have something you can hang your hat on.”
Molly Peacock, a partner at Rees Broome in Tysons Corner, Va., who’s represented condos and HOAs for nearly 15 years, says when she sees this issue, it’s typically harassment from one member to the board. “One thing I’ve tried, and it sometimes goes over fine, is employing a code of conduct resolution,” she explains. “In my context, we’ve had harassment at meetings, too, not just in emails.
“A code of conduct isn’t so much that we’re going to fine someone if they mouth off at a meeting,” she notes. “It’s about telling everybody, ‘Here are our expectations on good manners and conducting ourselves in a businesslike manner at meetings so we can get work done. That’s the whole point of the meeting, to get work done that improves property values. So please help us, and behave in a businesslike way.’”
Read more suggestions for handling angry owners, including whether to ignore them completely, in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/3895.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Tips and Best Practices for Handling Harassing Calls and Emails to Condo/HOA Board Members
How to address the anger that seems to be escalating at community associations? That was a hot topic at a recent gathering of community association lawyers. One lawyer said that she recommends clients have a form response for some owners' communications: "We've received your email, and you won't receive further communication from the board."
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Tips-Best-Practices-for-Handling-Harassing-Calls-Emails-CondoHOA-Board-Members.cfm
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You Can Save Money on Condo/HOA Legal Fees with 7 Simple Steps
In this week's tip, we help you save money on a necessary but frustratingly costly expense: Legal fees. Here's something we hear from readers all over the country: They sometimes hesitate to get even necessary legal advice because of cost.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/You-Can-Save-Money-on-CondoHOA-Legal-Fees-with-7-Simple-Steps.cfm
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7 Ways to Save Money and Work Better with Your Condo/HOA Lawyer
Here's something we hear from readers all over the country: They sometimes hesitate to get even necessary legal advice because of cost.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/7-Ways-Save-Money-Work-Better-with-Your-CondoHOA-Lawyer.cfm
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Regulating Rentals in Your HOA
Join us for a must-attend webinar on April 24 on how to create a smart--and enforceable--rental policy 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:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/regulating-rentals-hoa-webinar-a.cfm
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Should You Be Worried If Directors Have an Employment Relationship?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "We have an employer/employee relationship between two directors. Is anyone aware of any case law or instance where this has been dealt with in Florida?" Forget Florida. Has any state addressed this unique situation? Here, we find out and discuss the possible challenges that arise.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Should-You-Be-Worried-Directors-Have-Employment-Relationship.cfm
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