In January 2019, Michigan’s first electric vehicle charging infrastructure program was approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). The Consumers Energy PowerMiDrive initiative includes a $10 million, three-year pilot program to support installations of...
Articles
Michigan Court of Appeals Rules That Short-Term Rentals May Violate Single-Family Residential Use Ordinances
Michigan Court of Appeals (unpublished), Docket No. 342831, Decided October 25, 2018 With the advent of Airbnb and similar services, the issue of short-term rentals has increasingly become a problem for condominium and homeowners associations over the last few years....
Recreational Marijuana: What Every Association Should Know
The legalization of marijuana in Michigan concurrently provides a framework for its regulation and control. Association boards will be able to look to the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (“MRTMA”) (MCL 333.27951 et seq.), and the regulatory scheme...
Passing The Hat: The Wisdom Of Relying On Experts
Community association directors and officers sometimes feel as if they’re required to wear many hats. In the course of any given time span, a director may need to make decisions that touch on the realm of expertise of reserve consultants (what are the useful remaining...
Think Twice Before Sending That Email
The management and administration of a community association is the operation of a business. Email is likely an essential component of conducting association business. Email is quick and creates a record of the issues discussed by the Directors and the decisions they...
Avoiding the Improper Denial of Association Insurance Claims
One of the primary functions of a condominium’s governing documents is to establish the respective responsibilities of the association and the co-owners for maintaining, repairing and replacing all property located within the condominium project. Often times, these...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Final Rule: Is Your Association Liable?
In October 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) adopted a final federal rule which guides how community associations should respond to certain types of discrimination claims in order to comply with the Federal Fair Housing Act. According to...
Two Condominium Bylaw Provisions That Every Board Should Review to Ensure that Assessments are not Unnecessarily Depleted
Assessments are the means by which all associations operate, and assessments provide the necessary income to maintain and enhance a community's assets to protect and maximize unit values. When assessment levels get too high, the very assessments that are essential to...
Developer Turnover of Condominium Association
What "Turnover" Is Before we get to the definition of "turnover," some background information is necessary. Most Michigan condominium associations are formed by the project developer at, or shortly after, the time the master deed is first recorded. Most associations...
Insuring Condominium Property Under a “Single Entity” Insurance Policy
One of the primary functions of a condominium's governing documents is to establish the respective responsibilities of the association and the co-owners for maintaining, repairing and insuring everything located within the project. During the early days of condominium...
Hoarding – Understanding and Successfully Addressing the Problem
It's a condition that affects between three and five percent of all Americans, both men and women. With an aging baby boomer generation, experts predict that the problem is only going to get worse. It’s called hoarding and for condominium associations, particularly...
Bankruptcy – What Every Condominium Association Must Know
Delinquent assessments are unfortunately a frequent and practically universal problem for condominium associations. The collection of delinquent assessments is essential to the viability of any condominium association; however, these collection efforts can become...