By David Swedelson, SwedelsonGottlieb Partner, Condo Lawyer and HOA Attorney These days, going “green” is all the rage. So, it is no surprise that lately we are getting more and more inquiries from boards wondering how they should respond when homeowners request authorization to install solar panels. If the owner…
The Los Angeles Times publishes a column entitled Rent Watch. Recently, the column addressed a situation where a tenant maintained in that tenants apartment a seeing eye dog that barked at night bothering the neighbor(s). The answer applies to community associations as well as rental units. Follow this link to…
September 22, 2010 marked the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. This holiday starts on a different date between late September to late October each year and has agricultural orgins, celebrating the harvest. If it is Sukkot, we can be assured of getting calls asking us what to do…
An interesting trial court decision was reported in the Daily Journal, a newspaper for attorneys. The article dealt with a the trial judge’s decision in a lawsuit between two owners in a Newport Beach gated zero lot line community regarding a purported landscaping encroachment. A zero lot line refers to…
I read with interest an article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times addressing a La Crescenta neighborhood’s uproar over one owner’s neon green paint job. Follow this link to read/download the LA Times article. One neighbor was quoted as saying that the green paint color was “completely inconsistent with…
One of the more difficult and confusing issues that boards and association management often have to deal with is determining who is responsible for the maintenance and repair of common area plumbing, ventilation and other utility components, especially those that serve only one unit. Even attorneys sometimes get it wrong…
By Alyssa Klausner, SwedelsonGottlieb Senior Associate In the case of Villa Vicenza Homeowners Association V. Nobel Court Development (follow this link to see the entire decision), the developer of a condominium project recorded a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) which required a homeowners association to arbitrate any construction…
You may remember the three pigs’ response to the wolf when he demanded entry into their homes in the old children’s story. Unfortunately, we have seen some cases where a few homeowners seem to consider their homeowners association to be a “wolf” and will not cooperate with the association’s reasonable…
We recently received an interesting request from a board of directors regarding amending the pet provision in their Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. Apparently, many members of the association have a distinct love of ferrets. Following is the language we developed for this association… 1. Each Owner shall keep…
Despite the wind, rain and cold weather that followed us from Southern California, SwedelsonGottlieb attorneys David Swedelson, Stephanie Rohde and Alyssa Klausner recently attended the 31st Annual CAI National Law Seminar in Tucson, Arizona. We have written an article about what we learned from this excellent seminar; follow this link…