Condominium Management Articles

May I Install Hurricane Shutters? A Loaded Question for Condominium Association Boards
"In the State of Florida, what right does a condominium board have to prohibit a unit owner from installing hurricane shutters?

When determining a condominium board’s right to limit or otherwise restrict a unit owner from undertaking a specific activity, the usual starting place is the condominium’s documents, such as the declaration or the bylaws. This is because condominium associations are generally left to their own devices when it comes to directing the manner in which they govern themselves. However, in the context of installing hurricane shutters, the Florida legislature believed legislative intervention was necessary."
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Condominium Boards Going Red Over Unit Owners Going Green
"Although polling suggests that the green movement is increasing in popularity and that many are doing what they can to reduce their carbon footprint, those trying to harness the power of the sun in their condominium communities have been encountering significant resistance from their condominium association boards. This is reflected by the increasing number of disputes involving unit owners attempting to install solar energy devices. Given the popularity of going green, those who are perceived as obstacles to the movement are achieving unwanted notoriety."
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Is It a ‘Grand Old Flag’—or a Community Eyesore?
"Those choosing to live in a condominium community voluntarily concede a measure of their autonomy as homeowners to their condominium association, whose governing board has the power to enact and enforce restrictions on the manner in which unit owners occupy and use their property.In this respect, the powers accorded to an association’s governing board are not insignificant."
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Enforcing Condo Use Restrictions: A Potential Legal Minefield for Board Members
"Condominium communities offer unique benefits to their residents that may not be otherwise available to those opting for “traditional” home ownership. However, in exchange for these benefits, unit owners must give up a certain degree of freedom of choice that they might otherwise enjoy in separate, privately owned homes. Although it is a tradeoff that many willingly accept when they purchase a unit, abusive condominium associations can cause owners to regret their decisions."
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Rising Costs, Falling Revenues: When Condominium Boards Must Raise Annual Assessments
"Condominium unit owners have common interests that go beyond just the use of the pool and the clubhouse. Because residents share the expenses associated with condominium living, they have a vested interest in the financial health of their fellow unit owners, specifically their ability to pay their share of those expenses. While taking an active interest in a neighbor’s financial status may seem intrusive, it is a natural consequence of living in a condominium community, where the success of the whole is to a large extent dependent upon the resources of each unit owner."
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‘Young People Need Not Apply’: The Legality of Adult-Only Condominium Communities
"As a country of laws, the United States has gone to great lengths to ferret out and eliminate discrimination, having deemed it antithetical to a free and fair society. Federal and state statutes are replete with anti-discrimination laws that affect virtually every facet of modern life. Interestingly, and perhaps ironically, one such law that was enacted primarily to eliminate discrimination expressly legalizes it against a particular group—the “young.”"
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