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Law & Legislation
The New England Condo Expo
They came to learn, to network, and to discover new solutions for managing their
community associations. And they went home with stacks of information and minds
brimming with ideas.
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Premier Condo Expo Attracts Throngs of Decision-Makers
The premier New England Condo Expo drew visitors from across the region to the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston for a full day of networking, seminars –and a chance to win a host of prizes. Read More
Keeping on Their Toes
If a unit owner has trouble making mortgage payments, can non-payment of condo fees be far behind? In what feels almost like a “tough love” scenario, experts are encouraging condo boards to be proactive about collecting late fees, even though New England communities have not been hit as hard as those in other parts of the country. Read More
A Burning Issue
The late 1990s saw a surge of nationwide smoking restrictions put into effect.
State by state, smoking ban legislation was proposed, put to a vote and passed
into law. No public dwelling seemed untouched, including the workplace, shops,
theaters, favorite restaurants and bars.
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Admittance Denied
For many prospective co-op shareholders, finding the living space of their dreams is only half the goal. The other half involves making the cut before the co-op’s admittance committee, meeting all of the seemingly mysterious criteria that can mean the difference between a new home and a rejection letter. Read More
Talking Trash
They pay the same property taxes, and pull electricity from the same wires; their residents go to the same schools and libraries, and vote for the same municipal officials. Yet there is one marked difference between many condominiums and their single-family house neighbors: trash. In towns and cities where the governments provide free trash pickup to single-family houses, condominiums are often required to foot the bill for the same service.Although this is certainly not a new issue, sharply rising costs for trash removal—and rising property taxes—are prompting condominium associations to re-examine the fairness of the situation. Following a number of successful campaigns across the country, many condominium residents throughout New England have organized and are pressing the local governments with renewed vigor for equality in municipal services. Read More
Foreclosure Sales Clarified
A hallmark of community associations is their ability to enforce nonpayment of assessments by resorting to the remedy of foreclosure—long recognized in the law as a forfeiture of property. Over time, courts and legislatures have struggled to balance the rights of the parties to ensure that the results of the foreclosure serve society's greater needs Read More
New England 2010 Legislative Roundup
With New England condominiums still grappling with the recent economic downturn,
it’s no accident that most new state condo legislation deals with money matters.
From a proposed superlien law in New Hampshire that would put condos first in
line to collect unpaid condo fees, to a Rhode Island bill that makes it easier
for condos to borrow for repairs, helping the condominium’s bottom line is a prevailing theme of new condo legislation. A state-by-state
breakdown of current legislation finds most legislatures sympathetic to the
problems of condominiums.
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2009 Legislative Update
While only a few states guarantee a “right-to-dry,” at the time of this writing, proposed legislation aimed to remove bans on clotheslines within condominium associations appears on several statehouse docket lists in New England. Arguments are fervent on both sides of the issue; at the core is the balance of the protection of private rights versus energy conservation for the public good. The wording and intent of the right-to-dry bills vary by state. While as many as ten states currently have legislation allowing energy-saving devices such as solar panels, only a handful – including Florida, Utah, Colorado and Hawaii – currently have laws that specifically protect homeowners’ rights to use clotheslines, according to various reports. Read More
Cable Ruling Opens up Competition
In a far-reaching ruling that affects condominiums across the country, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently banned exclusive contracts between cable TV providers and multi-family dwellings. The ban, which went into effect March 7, has been hailed as long overdue by consumer groups. Read More
