Community Trends Magazine

On December 19, 2022, a 73-year-old resident of a condominium in Toronto, Canada shot and killed five people — including three members of the association board — allegedly over a long-running dispute with the association. According to the police reports and court documents, the resident had for a significant time claimed that vibrations and emissions […]

As you would probably expect, attorneys get asked a lot of questions. One of the first things they teach you in law school is how to answer every legal question with the standard response: “It depends.” As it turns out, that is one of the most valuable lessons you can learn as a fledgling attorney…

Senator Troy Singleton introduced legislation that would authorize New Jersey community associations, without the vote of the members/owners, to remove from their documents “any restriction, covenant, or condition that prohibits or limits the conveyance, encumbrance, rental, occupancy, or use of real property” based on race, creed, national origin

The coronavirus pandemic has been with us for approximately one year and among many unanswered questions is the potential future impact on the ability of community associations to collect monthly maintenance fees. While the majority of communities have not seen a significant increase in delinquencies as a result of the pandemic, there remains concern that […]

While some may believe that a “Code of Ethics” or “Code of Conduct” is nothing more than a policy advising fellow owners how to conduct themselves like adults – and, make no mistake, it serves that purpose quite well – every community association needs one. As much as we may hope that common sense and […]

By now, most everyone has heard about the Radburn legislation, which was signed into law by Governor Christie on July 13, 2017. What you may not have known is that until the Radburn legislation became effective, there was no specific statutory authority in New Jersey regarding electronic voting for community associations.

For decades associations and developers in transition have been plagued by ill-defined concepts embodied in the rules of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) governing the developer’s obligation to pay common expenses for units under development and individually owned “in proportion with the benefit derived by the unit from items included in the […]

While social media can be an informal and inexpensive way for community associations to increase information and engagement among their residents, association boards must be wary of potential pitfalls and legal risks if that social media presence is poorly managed.

Scenario: Condo X is a community with lots of families with children. In the summer the association’s large pool is very popular every day of the week. Many of the parents are attentive to their children at the pool. However, some families drop off their children at the pool and leave them there to swim unattended. Other parents stay at the pool but

In August 12, 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in Qian v. Toll Brothers Inc., that community associations are not immune from liability for their failure to adequately clear snow and ice from sidewalks within the community. The report of this decision in newspapers and by others has caused concern for community associations

In the community association context, transition describes the two-part process by which control of an association, together with responsibility for the common elements and/or common property, is transferred from the developer of the community to the unit owners.

If you live in an association — whether it is a condominium, homeowners association or cooperative — protecting your community from fraud should be your number one resolution for 2011. Chances are that someone, somewhere, has unfettered access to your association’s bank accounts, financial records and, most importantly, your money.