Wondering how to fight your HOA fines and win? You can find that here. The Arizona Court of Appeals recently imposed significant restrictions on homeowners' associations' rights to impose fines and penalties against homeowners. In Turtle Rock III Homeowners Association v. Fisher, 243 Ariz. 294, 406 P.3d 824 (October 26, 2017), Division One of the Arizona Court of Appeals held that homeowners associations are prohibited from imposing and collecting fines or penalties if the HOA did not have a valid, published written fine penalty policy. The absence of such a policy was per se unreasonable ..read more

Many people when they think about their homes or families, they think about the family pet or pets. Dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, chickens... Many people who live in homeowners associations or condominiums, however, are told that they are not allowed to have pets or that they are only allowed to have certain pets or that their pets are only allowed if they fall within certain size and weight restrictions. We recently met with a gentleman whose dog had gained weight and it went from being "allowed" to "not allowed" due to his added girth. "Sorry, Cooper is no longer welcome here at the condomin ..read more

The 2018 Arizona Legislative session has gotten off to a fairly unremarkable start for homeowners that potentially promises to make some really bad law for homeowners and fails to fix any of the real problems that homeowners, individuals, and consumers face on a daily basis.  Let’s start with  a bill so bad that its own sponsor pulled it after less than one week. Senator John Kavanaugh, R-Fountain Hills, proposed amending legislation to HOA laws that would speed up the foreclosure process. Although the current laws allow homeowners associations and condominiums to foreclose if t ..read more

Codes of Conduct are all the rage in HOAs and condominium communities. Some associations are even attempting to insert these Codes of Conduct into their bylaws, declarations, and other governing documents. There's just one major flaw with Codes of Conduct -- they are invalid and unenforceable.  Consider what appears to be a fairly innocuous Code of Conduct: Board Members shall act in the best interests of the Association as a whole. Board Members serve for the benefit of the entire community, and shall, at all times strive to do what is best for the Association as a whole. No Board m ..read more

HOA boards cannot exclude or prohibit board members from executive sessions or other meetings. In McNally v. Sun Lakes Homeowners Association #1, Inc., 241 Ariz. 1, 382 P.3d 1216 (October 13, 2016), the Court of Appeals rejected an association's argument to exclude a board member from all executive sessions, holding that "bypassing the motion, the Board prevented [her] from performing her duties and responsibilities as a director." The Court wrote: Participating in executive sessions was critical to McNally performing her duties as a director. Pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 33–1804(A)(1)–(5), directors ..read more

The prevalence of foreclosures in the real estate market has had several unexpected repercussions to distressed homeowners who have made the decision to walk away from their home.  Banks appear to be unable, incapable, or unwilling to handle the volume of foreclosures, so a distressed homeowner may continue to own his or her home for months, and occasionally even years, after receiving a Notice of Trustee’s Sale (rather than the 90-days stated in the Notice). Because you are legally responsible for payment of assessments until you are no longer the owner, it is important that you cont ..read more

Residential Arizona Parking Laws Wondering if your HOA can fine you for parking on the street? We regularly meet with homeowners whose HOAs threaten to impose fines or even take them to court to enforce HOA on-street parking bans. In one case, the HOA spent more than $40,000.00 unsuccessfully attempting to enforce an on-street parking ban against a family that had five licensed drivers in the family. HOA parking enforcement. Are these HOA street parking bans enforceable? HOA parking rules in Arizona say that the HOA has "no authority over and shall not regulate any roadway" if it is a public ..read more

Can an HOA Restrict Rentals? Let’s break this down… HOA Rental Restrictions in Arizona Short-term rental restrictions are popping up in planned communities and condominiums throughout Arizona at an alarming rate. While exactly what constitutes "short-term" may vary from one association to another, with prohibitive periods ranging from 30 days to in some cases one year, the bans are real and they are having a disastrous impact on owners. In some cases, these bans are being adopted by board edict; in others, a large number of homeowners band together. In both cases, it is very likely that new r ..read more

If you live in a homeowners’ association, then you know that you have specific rules and guidelines that regulate how you use your property and that the homeowners’ association may declare you to be in “violation” if you fail to follow its rules. Violations may, sooner or later, lead to HOA fines that you believe are unwarranted, unfair, or unreasonable. Disputes between homeowners and their associations are far too common. A 2015 survey by the Coalition for Community Housing Policy in the Public Interest revealed that 72 percent of people surveyed had been involved in a dispute with their ass ..read more

Arizona law gives homeowners the right to record all open board meetings. Persons attending may tape record or videoptape those portions of the meetings of the board and meetings of the members that are open. The board of directors of the association may adopt reasonable rules governing the taping of open portions of the meetings of the board and the membership, but such rules shall not preclude such tape recording or videotaping by those attending. A common tactic employed by numerous boards is to require a homeowner to give advance notice of their desire to record a meeting at least 24 h ..read more