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| January 15, 1999 |
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Santa Ana, CA financial consultant and grandmother, Helen Garrett had a run in with her homeowner's association for allegedly kissing and "doing bad things" while parked for more than an hour in a driveway at her condominium. The homeowners association posted an accusatory notice above the mailboxes at her condo complex along with a warning that if she didn't behave herself she'd be fined for future "bad things." By the time the media picked up the story, "Hot Lips" Garret, as her neighbors had begun to call her, was about to sue for character defamation and emotional distress. Only after the association discovered the "violator" was a 17-year-old and her boyfriend -- not Garrett -- did it post a public apology. Unreasonable rules and overzealous enforcement by condominium, cooperative and community associations can lead to deep homeowner resentment -- and a lot worse, according to the Alexandria, VA-based Community Associations Institute. Garrett's story and more like them are the subject of a new book offered by the institute, "Be Reasonable! How Community Associations Can Enforce Rules Without Antagonizing Residents, Going to Court or Starting World War III." A record 42 million Americans live in condominium, cooperative and homeowners association and rules that govern their lives should be tempered with reasonableness, according to "Be Reasonable!" author Kenneth Budd, an editor with the Washington, D.C.-based American Association of Retired People. The book features analyses and discussions of numerous court cases, real-life controversies and advice from, "Common Ground," CAI's magazine. It offers practical tips for writing reasonable rules - on issues from pets to parking, holiday decorations to home businesses - as well as expert opinions from more than 30 leading community association attorneys, managers and directors. Included are guidelines on due process, mediating disputes, making exceptions and meting out punishments, when necessary. "Be Reasonable!" also pinpoints hot-spots that can lead to controversial rules, including children, flags and flagpoles, holiday decorations, home businesses, landscaping, paint colors and pets. So what makes a rule unreasonable? Budd says a rule is probably unreasonable if:
Bans against trucks made sense 30 years ago when many association rules were first written and trucks were back-firing, smoking monstrosities. Today they are as finely engineered as passenger cars. Likewise, the first satellite dishes were six feet across. Now they fit on a window sill.
If a rule, designed to retain the architectural integrity of a complex, forbids a unit owner from installing netting to keep children from slipping through railings and falling a full story, it's not very logical.
Budd says in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Kukui Plaza condo association banned candles requiring only "electric illumination" in the units. The association's intent to prevent fires was a good one, but unwilling to form a candle-seeking goon squad to snuff out violators, it couldn't enforce the rule.
Some associations ban Christmas decorations, when a better idea might be to allow them only during a certain period, say, Thanksgiving through New Years day. Others ban street skating when allowing roller and in-line skating, skateboards and street hockey in designated areas, say in driveways or on the sidewalk, but not in the street where vehicles travel, is probably a better idea.
Federal fair housing laws prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. That applies to any person in the sale or rental of a unit as well as when using a community's services or facilities. It's also illegal to discriminate against families with children and people with disabilities. Even rules that don't violate fair housing laws can be unreasonable if they unfairly target a particular group. Forcing only renters to pay a user fee, or forcing renters, but not owners, to adhere to certain parking rules, is asking for trouble, Budd says. To order "Be Reasonable!" ($9.95 for members, $14.95 for non-members) call CAI at (703) 548-8600. |
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