It’s a disturbing trend and one that isn’t tracked by any government agency. But according to at least one nonprofit research group, association boards are initiating more foreclosures than previously. According to a Houston-based nonprofit research study, association-initiated foreclosures jumped from 500 in 1995 to 2,200 in 2007.
Association boards have found themselves unwilling enforcers of properties and unpaid bills. That’s in part due to the fact that of the 300,000 homeowner’s associations in the country, over 50 percent of them face serious financial problems. So says a September 2010 survey by the Community Association Institute.
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Want to find yourself on the wrong end of a discrimination suit? Just ban children from playing on your association’s grounds.
That’s how a Boston-based condominium association found itself paying out a $150,000 in fines for discriminating against families with children. The settlement has the association paying $130,000 to the families in question and $20,000 in civil penalties. This lawsuit and the subsequent fallout gives us a prime example of an association over-stepping it’s bounds. In addition to restricting the ability of children to play outside, the association was accused of intimidating, threatening, and interfering with the rights afforded to it’s residents under the Fair Housing Act. This entire situation goes to show how difficult it can be at times for an association board to manage the needs and desires of all residents.
This is not the first case where an association has found itself on the wrong end of a discrimination suit. Other substantial instances involve associations in Indiana, Atlanta, Florida, and Washington. Regardless of guilt or if the discrimination was intentional or simply a bi-product of an otherwise harmless determination by the board, these situations can be costly to defend and extremely costly should you be found guilty.
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Community association boards often waver between doing what’s expected of the community per the bylaws and what’s right to do. Case in point – pets. Many communities prohibit pets for obvious reasons: the noise, the smell, the additional stress on the lawns and property, etc. But holding a strict line could land your association in legal hot water.
That’s because some homeowners require the use of service animals. Seeing-eye dogs are the obvious exception to your board’s rules. And the exception should be made, because to deny a disabled person the right to animal assistance is in direct violation of federal and state disability legislation. But some pet owners are going to great lengths to claim disabilities in order to keep pets that wouldn’t otherwise fall under the definition of a service animal. What about a service monkey to assist the disabled, or a guide horse for the blind? It’s an area of the law that lacks clear definition, and while the Department of Justice has a proposal pending that would exclude exotic animals (such as snakes or other wild animals, there’s no clear legal precedent to follow.
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