The Commission of Strata Corporations (CSC) is encouraging persons to utilise the dispute resolution service it offers. The dispute resolution process forms part of the responsibility of the CSC under the Registration Strata Titles Act. This process allows the CSC to oversee disputes between proprietors or between proprietors and the executive committee of a strata […]
What to Do When You Have Problem Neighbors
What To Do When You Have Problem NeighborsThere’s nothing worse than problem neighbors. After long days at work, we just want to come home and relax; when our neighbors disturb our peace it can be especially challenging. Before you hire a lawyer or list your house for sale, there are a few strategies you can […]
Considerations in Settling Cases (Mediation/Settlement Conferences)
Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) method, where the participants meet with a third party (mediator) to negotiate a potential settlement. The mediator is required to be unbiased, and he or she does not work for either side. The mediator listens to each side’s position and helps to facilitate a voluntary resolution to the […]
Keeping It Civil: How a Civility Resolution Can Help Your Community (GA)
Disputes between owners and board members in community associations are nothing new. It’s likely that, at some point, your Board of Directors has experienced or will experience an uncivil encounter with an owner, whether in the community, at an Association meeting, or even on social media. Most of these situations are isolated passing incidents, but […]
Reversal: Small claims courts cannot order mediation, ADR (IN)
Parties cannot be ordered to participate in alternative dispute resolution in small claims proceedings, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, reinstating a dog-bite case that a judge had dismissed after litigants refused to participate in court-ordered mediation. Read the article………………………..
Contracting for Faster and Less Expensive Dispute Resolution (FL)
Disputes are a fact of life on construction projects. There are just too many variables, unknowns and unpredictable things that can occur during the course of a project that can lead to disagreements and disputes, particularly when significant dollars are at stake. However, as many in the construction industry know, or come to find out, […]
The (Tree) Root of the Problem: Who is Responsible when Tree Roots and Branches Cause Damage? (FL)
They say good fences make good neighbors. But trees, on the other hand, have been known to strain the relationship between neighbors. Damage and disruption amongst neighboring lot owners, caused by tree roots and branches, is a very common problem in Florida. Not surprisingly, Florida courts have addressed this issue and have carved out a […]
Desperately Seeking Conflict
If you interact with 20 people in a business day, 19 may be pleasant encounters. But if just one is extremely disagreeable, that interaction will probably stick in your mind. You may replay it over and over throughout the day, while you think of the clever replies you wish you had said at the time. […]
HUD Rule Changes How HOA’s Address Neighbor Disputes
Historically, Associations have avoided interjecting in neighbor-to-neighbor disputes. Heavy walking, loud parties, surround sound systems, and slamming doors were just a few of the commonly voiced resident complaints, and up until now, the response from most Association Boards was that the residents must settle these matters amongst themselves. Read the entire article……………………………….
When Condo Boards and Residents Clash, Legal Bills Mount (NY)
My mother-in-law recently regaled me with a tale of intrigue, money and power in her South Florida homeowners association. Seeking to raise about $6 million to refurbish the 20-year-old community, the association’s board had voted to assess each homeowner $7,000. But a group of vocal residents fought back, setting up a power struggle. Read the […]
Living in Your Neighbor’s Backyard? Here’s How to Keep the Peace
If you’ve visited a newer neighborhood recently, you may have noticed that yards are getting smaller and houses are getting closer together. Whether it’s because homeowners don’t want to manage the maintenance and upkeep that comes with having a large yard, or developers are trying to make better use of their space, the small yard […]
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! Handling Misinformation in Your HOA
As most community managers know from experience, it’s not unusual for a homeowner or resident to lie about the actions of the board of directors or manager. People lie for a wide range of reasons. Sometimes they’re trying to save face, stir up trouble, or maybe they actually believe their own lies. When a homeowner […]
The Right Approach to Violation Disputes | Part 2 of 2
Another major source of disputes, especially during issues of violation resolution, relate to changing the rules. Every homeowner in your HOA is held to the same standard, but they also have a right to take action and change what those standards are. That is supposed to be the major benefit of living in an HOA, […]
Mediation Is One Way to Avoid Litigation (NY)
Here are answers to some basic questions about resolving co-op and condo disputes through mediation. What is mediation? It’s an informal, voluntary approach to settling disputes in which a neutral third party – usually a professional mediator or an attorney – assists the disagreeing parties in resolving conflicts. Mediation can alleviate friction between neighbors, between […]
The Right Approach to Violation Disputes | Part 1 of 2
As an HOA, it is your duty to uphold the rules of the community. These rules were written to ensure the health, happiness, and property values of everyone in the neighborhood. When enforced correctly, it ensures that every homeowner is held to the same standards for the good of the community. Including council members. Of […]
Greenville County complaints about homeowner associations among highest in South Carolina
Homeowners in Greenville complained about their homeowners associations last year more than almost every county in South Carolina, according to the inaugural Homeowners Association Complaint Report released Wednesday. Richland County homeowners generated the most complaints with 53.2 percent of the total, according to the report released by the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. The […]
Managing Board Conflict: How to Maintain Harmony
In a community association, it falls on the board to put out any fires that ignite among the property’s residents. But what happens when that blaze springs up between the board members themselves? Read the article…………………
Mediation Can Resolve Disputes Without Litigation (NY)
We live in contentious times, including those of us who live in co-ops and condominiums. “People are becoming less tolerant of one another, and there are more disagreements than ever,” says Claudine Gruen, vice president and director of operations at Garthchester Realty. When disputes prove intractable, there’s a tried-and-true remedy available to co-op and condo […]
How To De-escalate a Confrontational Exchange
Why do so many interactions these days become heated? Are people just meaner than they used to be? Have we lost our ability to be tolerant of one another? And, if so, what can we do about it? In today’s society, it seems we are not only entitled to our opinion, but everyone else is […]
Mediation: What Is It and Why Do It?
Mediation is often confused with arbitration. They have similarities, including that both are overseen by third-party neutrals that do not have financial stakes in the outcomes. The key difference is that while arbitration results in the neutral evaluating the outcome (which typically is binding, but by agreement can be non-binding), while in mediation the third-party […]
Condominium Board Authority: Checking the Limits of Power
When making the choice to purchase a condo or a co-op apartment, many buyers choose a condominium to reduce the board’s involvement in the decisions they will make regarding their home. Condo boards’ authority over certain decisions and aspects of life in their communities is much more limited than that of co-op boards, but that […]
How to Effectively Deal with a Bully in a Community Association (AZ)
Most Members in an Association understand that rules and social decorum dictate how they are to interact with Board members, Association employees, and other members. However, there are a small percentage of people that do not abide by rules and social decorum and they are always looking for a fight. These people need to be […]
Arbitrator Not Found to Exceed its Powers (CA)
It is well settled that an association’s CC&Rs (“Declaration”) establishes and controls, among other things, a board’s authority to govern an association provided that the CC&Rs do not conflict with California law and regulations (i.e., Davis-Stirling Act). In such cases, the plain language of the CC&Rs control. (Franklin v. Marie Antoinette Condominium Owners Assn. (1993) […]
Handling Conflicts: When Should the Board Intervene?
Condo, co-op and HOA communities are made up of people – and people aren’t perfect. Within a community association, squabbles are inevitably going to break out between unit owners. Oftentimes these problems will be resolved relatively easily, and the owners will reach some sort of reasonable consensus with no lasting animosity or tension between them. […]
Ask the HOA Expert: Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Homeowner associations can be hotbeds of discontent, turmoil and conflict at times. Out in the big world, combatants can often successfully just avoid each other rather than deal with the problems. But within the HOA, avoidance is much more difficult and being in conflict with a neighbor can make living there very stressful. Unresolved conflicts […]
Pacifying Problem Homeowners
In the day-to-day life of the HOA manager, few things are more reliable than complaints. And if you have complaints, chances are you have at least one devoted complainer (hey, we all need a hobby). Maybe they’ve already caused your HOA nightmares by ardently complaining about one big thing. Maybe they nit-pick you on 17 […]
Common HOA Lawsuits & How to Dodge (err…) Avoid Them
Covenant enforcement issues, rule violations, board member battles, and homeowner litigation against the Association are some of the most common HOA lawsuits. Contentious, continued litigation can and does ensue in some of these situations. However, as an HOA leader, you can learn how to make the courthouse a last resort, instead of a starting point. […]
Online tribunal underway to help with condo disputes (ON)
Condominium lawyers are waiting to see how the jurisdiction of the online Condominium Authority Tribunal expands, while mediators say online dispute resolution will become more common. The tribunal is tasked with settling records disputes under s. 55 of the Condominium Act, its website explains. The tribunal was launched in November 2017, calling itself “Canada’s first […]
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act And Arbitration Agreements (FL)
Consumer products often include some form of written warranty. Depending on the type of product, that written warranty may be governed by the requirements of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (“Magnuson-Moss Act” or “Act”). The Magnuson-Moss Act was enacted to protect consumers and to prevent deception in certain types of written warranties by the entity providing […]
A trick for resolving disagreements
Question: I live in a small planned unit development with four families. This is the second year we have lived in the community, as it is a new development. The control box for the sprinkler system is in my backyard. The park-strip grass we all share is watered by a valve in that control box. […]
Setting the Ground Rules for Neighbor Disputes
If you’ve lived on planet earth for very long you’ve probably had a problem with a neighbor. Neighbor vs neighbor disputes aren’t new, and they definitely aren’t unique to homeowner associations, but, when these confrontations arise in a common interest community, the HOA can get stuck in the middle. In many cases, it’s difficult to […]
Alternative Dispute Resolution or Litigation? Which Makes Sense for Community Association Boards? (NJ)
New Jersey’s Condominium Act mandates that condominiums “provide a fair and efficient procedure for the resolution of housing-related disputes between individual unit owners and the association, and between unit owners, which shall be readily available as an alternative to litigation.” New Jersey’s Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act contains the same mandate. That alternative […]
When the Interests of Boards and Resident Groups Diverge
Late last year, a conflict developed between a board and some residents at the Windsor Oak co-op in Queens over shelters protecting a colony of feral cats that lived behind the property. As the New York Post reported, a contingent of shareholders accused the board of repeatedly destroying the shelters, despite the colony being protected […]
Alternative Dispute Resolution What to Do When They Sue – Part II (NY)
Lawsuits are both expensive and time consuming. It might be said that the only real winners in a civil suit are the lawyers. They get paid by the hour, and often in cases of negligence, they receive a substantial portion of the award or settlement – sometimes as much as 30 percent. For co-op and […]
Responding to a Lawsuit What to Do When They Sue – Part I
In today’s litigious society, lawsuits are an unpleasant fact of life. Everyone has a gripe – and that gripe can often result in legal action. The question is, how is your cooperative corporation, condominium association, or HOA protected, and how should litigation be handled? It’s a complicated joint effort that involves board directors, residents, attorneys, […]
HOA Board Conflict Resolution (TX)
As a member of your HOA’s Board of Directors, you’re accustomed to listening to homeowners’ concerns, disputes, and complaints and resolving these issues to the best of your abilities. But what happens when your fellow Board members have an argument? What should you do if a dispute between board members gets in the way of […]
Malaysia: A three-step problem-solving method to common issues in strata living
Unrectified defects, stubborn owners who refuse to comply with house rules, late issuance of strata titles, inter-floor leaks — these are some of the issues that may bring grief to strata residential owners. But how can they resolve these problems? In order to bring certainty to strata property owners, Chur Associates founder and managing partner […]
Magic in Mediation
If Kathleen (Kat) Marquis designed a t-shirt, it would probably say something like “Mediate, don’t Litigate”. An attorney who specializes in mediation, Marquis believes passionately in its effectiveness and desirability as an alternative to litigation – an alternative that she thinks works especially well for condominiums. “It is the only dispute resolution process that preserves […]
Neighbor to Neighbor Disputes and HOA Involvement
Occasionally, neighbor-to-neighbor disputes will occur between homeowners in your HOA. As a board member, what is your role in the resolution of such matters? Should you even get involved? It’s not uncommon for homeowners in these situations to seek intervention from the board and, while most of these issues involve matters that are addressed in […]
When Your Neighbor Hates Your Dog(s) (NY)
Yesterday we alerted you to a new wrinkle on the way New Yorkers live now. In essence, as the price of apartments in a neighborhood goes up, the size of that neighborhood’s dogs goes down. Translation: if you see a lot of Shih Tzus on the street, you’re probably in Tribeca or Greenwich Village. If […]
Mediation may help solve homeowner’s association disputes (FL)
Living in a neighborhood that’s governed by a homeowner’s association is often a positive experience until there’s a dispute. Getting a dispute settled can take some work from both sides, but it’s imperative that you try to do this quickly since the situation dragging on can make things even more complicated. Read the article…………………………….
Resolving a dispute with your condominium association (FL)
If you live in a housing community, you know that sometimes residents and the condominium board don’t see eye to eye. Whatever the dispute, when dealing with any homeowners’ association it’s important to keep these tips in mind: Read the article…………………………………….
Elevator Pitch
I recently read an article published by U.S. News & World Report titled, How to Win a Fight With your Condo Association – Without Going Broke by Teresa Mears. The article includes some solid guidance. A more accurate but less flashy title might have been – How to influence Association Policy – Without a Fight. […]
Condo tribunal won’t award costs to winning litigants (ON)
The new Condominium Authority Tribunal — the province’s first of its kind launched last November — is designed to quickly resolve condominium disputes. But the tribunal will not award the cost of lawyers’ fees to winning litigants, barring exceptional circumstances. And that may have both a positive and a negative impact for its users, say […]
Biscotti Diplomacy: Never underestimate the value of a face-to-face apology. Baked goods help, too
When I bought my first home in 2016, the townhouse complex I moved into seemed like a paradise on earth. The neighbors were friendly, the homeowners association was efficient but not overbearing, and the wooded setting at the base of a mountain seemed made for brisk walks and amateur observations of the native flora and […]
Dealing With Difficult People In Your Homeowner’s Association
Living in a homeowner association, there is likelihood of running into someone that is, how should we say it, less than happy. We all have to deal with difficult people at some point. Some focus on what they don’t like about a person (loudmouth, condescending tone, etc) and then hope they will change. Not surprisingly, […]
Homeowner Association Not Bound by Buyers’ Arbitration Agreement With Builder
Claims by a homeowner association against a developer are not subject to arbitration agreements between the developer and individual homeowners, where the claims are pressed on the association’s own behalf, a New Jersey appeals court ruled Thursday in a published decision. The appeals court set aside an order by a Superior Court judge compelling arbitration […]
Managing Conflicts in Your HOA Community
Let’s be honest, there is no way to avoid conflict entirely. Which means at some point your HOA will deal with some sort of disagreement. There are many types of conflict, and just as many dos and don’ts for how to manage them. Here are some ways your board can handle a situation, should it […]
Withholding Your Maintenance Payments: Do You Have a Right to Do That During a Dispute?
Conflicts between both unit owners and their co-op or condo, or between neighbors, can get ugly pretty quickly. Often due to many considerations–in particular the slow pace of anything in common-interest properties and the general reluctance to spend money–these conflicts can result in growing anger and frustration. The first response of many a frustrated shareholder […]
What’s a Board to Do? A Guide to Resolving Disputes in Your Community
We have been asked on numerous occasions recently to give guidance to our community association clients about disputes that arise with and between their members. Communities throughout Maryland, and across the country, grapple with these questions every day. Resolving disputes within a community association can be one of the most daunting tasks facing members of […]