Want to Preserve the Right to Restrict the Installation of Radio Antennas? Oppose U.S. House of Representatives Bill 4969

The National Chapter of Community Associations Institute (CAI) recently sent out the following urgent message, which we are reproducing here in its entirety. If you want to preserve the right for homeowner associations to be able to restrict the installation of radio towers and antennas, you need to read and act on this important information:

Last month, U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) introduced H.R. 4969, legislation that may invalidate community association rules and architectural standards that govern the installation and use of amateur radio towers and antennas.

If H.R. 4969 becomes law, homeowners who want to install a radio tower or antenna for amateur radio use would not have to go through the architectural review process or follow existing community guidelines.

We need your help to stop this legislation. Follow this link that will help you email your member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Thank you for engaging in this important effort to preserve America's community associations' ability to allow elected neighbors to create rules for the benefit of the community as a whole.

"Spot" Amendments to Association Governing Documents

We are often asked about what portions of an association's CC&Rs and Bylaws need updating to reflect current state statute and best practices. The answer is usually simple - everything! Due to the reorganization of the Davis-Stirling Act effective January 1, 2014, which included many substantive changes, plus many other statutory changes that have occurred within the past 10 years, many associations' governing documents have ceased to be reliable resources for effective governance and operation of an association. We are currently assisting many of the firm's clients with complete amendment and restatement of their CC&Rs, Bylaws, Rules and Policies.

But what if your association just doesn't have the time or money to commit to a full amendment and restatement, but would still like to make some improvements to your association's governing documents? We suggest the board consider some "spot" amendments.

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Enforcing Your Governing Documents? Have You Considered What Defenses the Offending Owners May Assert?

Many boards of directors make enforcement decisions without considering all of the variables. We get contacted and told that an owner has violated the association's CC&Rs. When we start asking questions, we find out that there have been similar violations in the past that the board has not dealt with. Or we find out that the violation is old news and the board failed to take timely action. Or that the violation was committed by a prior owner.

As Florida community association attorney Donna DiMaggio Berger states in a recent post to her blog (in an article entitled "Which affirmative defenses might derail your community's enforcement efforts"), "it is the rare board that undertakes a thorough analysis before sending out those demand letters to determine if the owner can use any affirmative legal defenses to successfully challenge the association's enforcement efforts."

Be Careful When Your HOA Tows Vehicles - Towing Can Have Deadly Results!

In California, condo/HOA associations have the right to tow so long as they comply with the law. But sometimes, associations can be too zealous. I was just referred to an article about such a situation in Florida.

Last year, a Florida community association homeowner died after he tried to stop his car from being towed from in front of his home. Here is the short story:

After a dispute with the tow truck driver, this owner was apparently run over by his own car as it was being towed away. This owner, a married father of three, a professor and associate dean at the local university, came home and found that his autistic son's tutor was parked in the second spot in his driveway. So he pulled in behind, with his car protruding onto the sidewalk and swale area.

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Is Your Community Association Filing the Proper
Tax Return?

I am not an accountant, far from it. But I am aware that there are two different tax returns that condos, HOAs, and cooperatives can (and should) file (and yes, community associations, while exempt to some extent from paying taxes on assessment income, still may have income and need to file tax returns). I have never really understood when an association would file one tax return form versus the other. I was therefore interested in a blog article on this issue by Donna DiMaggio Berger, a Florida community association attorney. Donna's article addressed a class she took that focused on the issues pertaining to association tax returns. Follow this link to read Donna's article in its entirety, as I am only going to summarize it here.

As Donna points out, most board members are not all likely to understand the complexities of accounting principles. And most likely do not understand the complexities of tax issues, returns, etc. as the same applies to their homeowners association. This means that board members do need to hire a competent accounting professional to assist their community.

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Governor Issues an Executive Order Concerning California's Drought Conditions That Specifically Impacts Homeowners Associations

At the end of April 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order in an attempt to bolster the state's ability to conserve, manage, and consume water in light of the major drought conditions currently affecting almost every area of California and its water resources. Although the executive order makes several directives to state agencies and civilians regarding water conservation and the implementation of water reduction programs, one of the directives specifically involves homeowners associations.

To summarize, the directive states that any provision of the governing documents, architectural or landscaping guidelines, or policies of an association will be void and unenforceable to the extent it has the effect of prohibiting compliance with the water saving measures contained in the directive, or any conservation measure adopted by an association's local public agency or private water company. The directive also states that the reason for the directive is to prevent the reported practice of associations fining or threatening to fine homeowners who comply with water conservation measures adopted by a public agency or private water company.

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Texas HOA Demolishes Home For Failure To Maintain; Self Help Is Not Always A Good Idea

Often, we are asked by board members at community associations whether the board can use self help to resolve a problem where an owner is failing to maintain their unit or lot/home. Sometimes, we learn about it after the fact. In our experience, self-help is not usually the best or appropriate option. Fortunately, none of our clients have been sued for taking action, and there are no California court of appeal decisions or statutes that address this issue. But we can learn how not to approach this issue by considering what happened to a Texas association that took steps to deal with a problem that landed that association in some very deep you-know-what.

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What's the Deal with Bedbugs? Is Your Condo Association Infested?

What exactly is a bedbug? Bedbugs are insects. They are reddish brown, oval and flat, about the size of an apple seed. Decades ago, bedbugs were eradicated from most developed nations using dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (commonly known as DDT) - a pesticide that has since been banned because it's so toxic. There has been a resurgence of bedbugs in the United States in recent years as a result of increased international travel, changes in pest control practices, and insecticide resistance. And several of our condominium association clients have reported units infested with these little bugs.

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Association Lien Services Announces Small Claims Services

Association Lien Services introduces Small Claims Services to continue to assist our association clients with collecting delinquent amounts after a bank foreclosure eliminates the association's ability to foreclose. Associations can obtain money judgments up to $5000.00 in Small Claims Court.

ALS' Small Claims Services are only available when the nonjudicial foreclosure process is converted by the association to an action to obtain a judgment following a bank foreclosure. Interested in learning more? Please contact our Supervising Attorney, Tracy Neal, at trn@alslien.com or 800-825-5510 x208 for more information.