Seems like people are pretty angry.
We see road rage on the highways and shopper’s rage at after-Christmas sales.
And, if you live in a community association, you’ve probably experienced condo rage. That’s the kind where board members, property managers and residents are recipients of shouting, profanity, threats and other acts of aggression.
Board meetings are a popular venue for volatile behavior, but not the only one.
An owner at a pricey northwest suburban golf community about four years ago took a bulldozer to a neighbor’s driveway over a property line dispute, says Clifford J. Shapiro, an attorney at Sachnoff and Weaver Ltd., Chicago. The matter would have been one between the residents, but the association had rules requiring permission before any construction was undertaken. It quickly filed a lawsuit and got a temporary restraining order to halt the heavy equipment, he said. Eventually the parties settled.
But, that’s not the extreme.
Some association leaders’ lives have been threatened, and a handful have died at the hands of disgruntled owners. In January 2003, Richard Glassel received the death penalty in Arizona for killing two association residents and wounding others. He opened fire at a board meeting of his former homeowner’s association in Peoria, Ariz. Glassel’s original beef, which escalated into many more, was about how the landscaping should be trimmed. An execution date has not been set.
Incivilities within community associations reflect those that increasingly occur within the larger society, said Giovinella Gonthier, a corporate civility consultant in Chicago and author of “Rude Awakenings: Overcoming the Civility Crisis in the Workplace” (Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2002).
“Since the mid-1980s we have focused on teaching people how to work with software and machines and neglected what I call the humanware skills,” she said. “Schools have cut projects or subjects that encourage harmony among people — theater, debate, band. Corporations do the same thing. They emphasize computer skills rather than communication skills.”
Then people move into community associations, bringing their deficiencies with them, she said.
“It’s a culture of self-entitlement that we are living in,” she said.
Restrictive nature
Some industry watchdogs believe that associations are to blame, that their restrictive nature breeds discontent.
“A lot of people do not accept this whole private government notion,” said attorney Evan McKenzie, a professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of “Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government” (Yale University Press, 1996). “They do not accept that their neighbors have the right to tell them what they can do with their property, and they feel very angry about it.”
The fact that inherent in a home purchase within an association is the agreement to abide by the rules is of little consequence, he said.
“That’s the legal reality, but the average person still has a culturally ingrained expectation of dominion over his property,” he said. “They’re paying the mortgage and taxes, and they don’t care what some lawyer wrote.”
Michael Kim has witnessed both sides of the incivility issue. He’s an association attorney with Arnstein & Lehr in Chicago and a condominium board president.
“I have seen situations where the board is very irresponsible or non-responsive to legitimate needs the owners have,” he said. “I’ve also seen well meaning boards try to do reasonable things being harassed by individuals.”
Among the hot buttons are money, particularly an increase in assessments, and lifestyle restrictions such as rules concerning pets, parking and decorating, he said.
Incivility breeds more incivility, and small issues turn into large ones.
A landmark case?
In New Jersey, a dispute at the Twin Rivers Homeowners Association in East Windsor began with allegations of election abuses, such as a ban on political signs and weighted voting, and grew to challenge the authority of community associations in general.
The dissidents, who are backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the association in the Chancery Division of the Mercer County Supreme Court three years ago. Handling their case is attorney Frank Askin, a law professor and director of the Constitutional Litigation Clinic at Rutgers Law School.
“This case tests whether or not communities such as Twin Rivers shall be treated under the New Jersey constitution like a municipality or as private entities,” he said.
As municipalities, they will be subject to constitutional restraints, while private entities are not.
The parties wrapped up their arguments in September. They are awaiting a summary judgment, which could have national implications. Meanwhile, the association levied a special assessment of $300,000 to pay its legal fees.
What are the remedies?
Remedies aren’t easy to come by. In some cases, concerned owners have overthrown sluggish or arrogant boards. Or they moved away. Managers have quit rather than endure repeated invective. Some associations pay attorneys and off-duty police officers to attend their meetings. One of Kim’s association clients passed a rule, after an owner brandished his gun a few times, that firearms could not be brought to meetings.
Effort to promote harmony
The Community Associations Institute, a trade group based in Alexandria, Va., last year launched an initiative intended to promote greater harmony. It compiled a 42-point document, Rights and Responsibilities for Better Communities, which outlines the rights and responsibilities of residents and their leaders. All parties have the right to respectful treatment, it says. (For a copy of Rights and Responsibilities, log onto caionline.org.)
The institute hopes associations will send copies to the members, discuss the content and pass a resolution of endorsement. Those who do and notify the institute of their actions, receive a certificate. About 100 certificates have been awarded.
“Rights and Responsibilities is an aspirational document,” said J. David Ramsey, president of the trade group. “Adopting it is just the beginning of the job. Now associations have to walk the walk and talk the talk. Time will tell how successful it will be.”
McKenzie would like to see a forum for meaningful dispute resolution between associations and their residents.
“It can’t just be within the association because a lot of people don’t feel that is legitimate anyway,” he said. “It needs to be at the city or county or local level. Most people can’t afford to go to court over this stuff. If push comes to shove, the owner nearly almost always loses.”
Author Gonthier’s recommendations include leadership training for board members and orientation sessions for newcomers. Presidents should lay out the ground rules before every meeting, and board members should listen thoughtfully to owner comments.
“They should not stifle debate because that builds resentment,” she said. “One person’s issue of flowers and plants in the lobby is just as important as your issue of reducing assessments.”
Boards and owners need to be more sensitive to each other, said attorney Kim.
“Just because the board has the authority to do something doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to exercise it if it provokes unnecessary bad feelings or conflict,” he said. “Homeowners have to be understanding as well that some things the board has an obligation to do whether it wants to or not. They have to be realistic about association living.”
And don’t forget to show appreciation, Gonthier said.
“When people do a good job or if something is going right, say thank you,” she said. “In many cases, they have the interests of the building at heart. That’s why we are all here, to cooperate with one another so we can all improve our property values. It’s a team effort.”
