The spread of the coronavirus/COVID-19 has caused and will likely continue to cause unexpected interruption in the business of many California community associations. Many of our association clients are in the middle of large common area refurbishment and restoration projects. With increasing restrictions and/or recommendations by public officials and others…
HOA Law Blog
COVID-19 and the Payment of Assessments By David Swedelson, Community Association attorney at SwedelsonGottlieb
Recently, an attorney that also represents California community associations sent out a newsletter that dealt with assessment collection during the pandemic. We already addressed this issue in our COVID-19 HOA Guidebook. We certainly do not agree with a lot of what that other attorney had to say on this issue…
We May Be at Home Waiting Out the COVID-19 Pandemic, But Community Association Boards Still Have Work to Do – By the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the community association industry both in terms of operations and morale. Community association members, board members, and community managers are presumably staying home to avoid contracting the coronavirus, and are not meeting in person. This seems to have led to a reluctance, by some association boards,…
COVID-19 and Community Association Duties and Responsibilities – A Guidebook for California Community Associations Updated as of March 27, 2020 – By the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb
SwedelsonGottlieb updated its COVID-19 Community Association Guidebook on March 27, 2020. We put this Guidebook together to address our new reality and how California community associations should be dealing with the pandemic. We are all staying at home unless our jobs are essential and we are socially distancing ourselves from…
Coronavirus and Community Association Duties and Responsibilities; A Guidebook from the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb
It is not a hoax; it is a pandemic. And as a result, we are receiving inquiries from board members and managers concerning what community associations should be doing to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the impact of same on their communities. To address these questions, SwedelsonGottlieb published a…
Proposed Senate Bill (SB) 323 (Wieckowski) Eliminates Qualifications For Serving On The Board and Changes The Law On California Community Association Elections; It Is Not the Right Solution
Prepared by the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb Senate Bill 323, proposed new law that would impact how California community association conduct elections, was approved by the Senate and Assembly was presented to Governor Newsom for his signature. This proposed legislation will impact and change the procedural requirements for most…
FHA Releases New Guidelines For Condominium Project Approval
From the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has finally published the long-awaited final revisions to the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) condominium project approval rules. The FHA does not originate loans for purchasing condos, but rather insures these loans for borrowers who might not otherwise qualify for traditional financing…
AB 2912 Fraud and Embezzlement//Fidelity Bonds & Financial Review
From the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb It is no secret that community associations are often targets for embezzlement. But they are not alone. Newspaper articles tell us that it happens to various types of businesses and organizations, even attorneys and lawyer/bar organizations. Fraud and embezzlement seems more likely to…
California Legislature Fixes the Law on Member Notice & Notice of Rule Changes-Amends Civil Code §4040 and Civil Code §4360
By the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb Through SB 261, the California Legislature fixed some issues with prior legislation dealing with delivery of notices and related matters and generally fixed some issues that had come up after prior legislation was adopted. This bill became effective in January 1st and amends…
New Case Holds that Post-Petition HOA/Condo Assessments That Become Due After A Homeowner Has Filed For Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Are Also Dischargeable – Ouch!
By Sandra Gottlieb and Alyssa Klausner, Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb As many of you likely know, when a homeowner files a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, they may be able to “discharge” their obligation to pay the pre-bankruptcy petition debts including the assessments they owe their community association. And you likely…