By: Beth Mulcahy, Esq. I love Halloween! It is one of my favorite holidays of the year. It’s only October 18th and I have already placed colored lights outside and have decorated our front door with a banner, scary door hanger with noises, a skeleton, pumpkins and a black cat. My children (ages 8 and 9) love all the decorations and, hopefully, so do our neighbors (LOL)! [...]
By Beth Mulcahy, Esq. There is a growing problem in community associations – owners who hoard books, newspapers, trash, knick-knacks, furniture, scrap metal, animals, rotting food and everything in between. The problem is common and has been identified as a serious behavioral illness. “Hoarders” are usually isolated and suffer from the psychological issues that produce the clinical definition of hoarding, [...]
By Beth Mulcahy, Esq. Over the past few years, our firm has heard horror stories from association boards and residents regarding owners, residents and vendors speeding and/or failing to obey traffic signals on association streets. Drivers who do not obey the speed limit within an association are a growing problem for community associations. Association residents want to feel safe in their [...]
By Beth Mulcahy, Esq. Does your board have a resident or vendor who likes to “prop open” the pool gate to make access to the association pool easier? If so, for safety and liability reasons, your board should take a proactive stance regarding the improper propping open of a gate/fence. First, your board should consider adopting and enforcing a rule stating that [...]
By Beth Mulcahy, Esq. Over the past several years, there have been articles on national and state levels regarding whether or not an owner can display a flag on his/her/their property in an association. Arizona law is quite clear on this issue. Pursuant to Arizona law (A.R.S. Section 33-1808 (A) and (B) for planned communities and 33-1261 for condominiums), [...]
By: Beth Mulcahy, Esq. Does your association have nagging questions regarding the Fair Housing Act? How should associations handle "group homes", service animals, emotional support pets, and "55 and Over Housing"? Has your association's board recently received a complaint regarding a Fair Housing violation? If so, this article provides an excellent overview of the Federal Fair Housing Act. FEDERAL FAIR [...]
Dear Cyber-Followers: It was another busy week last week at the Arizona Legislature! After 82 days in session, 106 bills have passed and 89 have been signed by the governor. Last week, the first community association bill was signed by Governor Ducey (HB2172, Design; Architectural Committees; Review). Under HB2172, a board or an architectural committee’s approval of construction projects, [...]
Dear Cyber-Followers: It has been a quiet two weeks for community association bills at the Arizona Legislature (trust me, this is a good thing!). There have been no community association bills passed by both the House and the Senate and signed by the Governor yet. We are closely watching the six following bills for a full vote (SB1496, Homeowners’ Associations, [...]
Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, during which as many as one million drones are expected to be sold, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced last week that new rules and regulations regarding drone use are coming soon. The FAA has named a task force to develop a system for drone registration by mid-December of this year. The [...]
Board members often tell Mulcahy Law Firm, P.C. that collecting delinquent assessments is one of the most difficult duties they have to oversee. This blog will provide a few quick tips to help boards more effectively collect delinquent assessments. First, the board must take prompt action on delinquent accounts if the board wants to have a low delinquency rate. If [...]
