HOA rules and regulations: How do we change them? Q: How do we change our HOA rules and regulations? I am a member of a common interest community of 12 individual homes. We are discussing making changes in our association documents, including our declaration, rules and regulations. We can make these changes with a membership [...]
Condo parking space problem? What do you do if your neighbor's car is too big for their parking space? Q: My condo building was built around 30 years ago. The access to the parking area is in a Z shape and our parking spaces are perpendicular to the sidewalk. As I understand it, a parking [...]
What are the common elements in a condo association? What happens when one homeowner makes changes to common elements? And what happens when they don't check with the condo association board before making those changes? Q: I live in a rather small condominium building of seven units. As you can imagine, our finances are fairly [...]
Does our condo association have a case against the builder? They found out the roof was built against code and the cost to repair is upwards of $150,000. Q: In 2006, we purchased a condominium in Chicago on the third floor of a 3-story building. Over those years, we’ve experienced water issues with the roof [...]
Should you postpone condo board elections during COVID-19? This reader is hesitant to proceed with condo board meetings and elections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Q: I live in a condominium building with around 100 units. We have seven board members and we are supposed to vote on some new board members this fall. Residents will [...]
Changing the percentage of ownership in a condo association. This reader says the value and square footage of certain units isn't accurate in the governing documents. Q: I have enjoyed your many articles in our local paper for some time. I am on the board of a condo association and it was brought to our [...]
Enforcing no smoking rules in condos. Condo boards can amend the rules and regulations to prohibit smoking, but how can they enforce the new rule? We continue to receive questions and comments about our recent columns on smoking (here and here) as well as the rules that condominiums and other associations are putting into place [...]
Coronavirus 2020: Will pools open this summer? Social distancing regulations could make it difficult for pools to operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Q: Our 100-unit condominium has a small private locked outdoor pool that usually opens from Memorial Day to Labor Day. With COVID-19, what do we do this year? Should we open the [...]
Interpreting no smoking rules in condos. It’s up to the condo board to interpret and enforce rules and regulations about smoking for the association. Q: I live in a condo with four smokers living below me. They continually blow smoke out the windows and it rises and enters my unit. Our revised Rules and Regs [...]
How HOA fine schedules work. This reader wants to know why the condo association board fined homeowners different amounts for the same violation. Q: Can a condo association charge different fines for exactly the same infraction? Some of us broke the same rule in our association. We took matters into our own hands in making [...]
