A recent federal court decision in U.S. v. The Dorchester Owners Association, No. 20-1396 (E.D. Penn. Jan. 25, 2023), is instructive as to how boards of directors can put their associations at risk when they fail to make timely final decisions on accommodation...
Condominium and homeowner's associations are seeing an increase in the number of requests for accommodation of emotional support animals. That has correlated to rising numbers of disability discrimination lawsuits and claims of failure to accommodate. Educated board...
In community association administration, disparate impact claims can arise when a seemingly neutral policy or practice has a disproportionate negative impact on a group protected by fair housing laws. For example, communities occasionally ask us whether they can...
On March 16, 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bipartisan bill officially expanding Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), which bars discrimination in employment and housing sectors. The ELCRA now protects against discrimination based on an...
The time is always right to do what is right. Martin Luther King, Jr. A new Michigan law went into effect on December 13, 2022 called the Discharge of Prohibited Restrictive Covenants Act (“Act”). This Act gives Michigan property owners and Michigan community...
The new presidential administration is expanding the government's enforcement of the federal Fair Housing Act ("FHA"). Community associations are subject to the anti-discrimination provisions within the FHA. The FHA expressly prohibits discrimination based upon "sex"...
The decline of smokers and smoking within one’s home in recent decades has led many co-owners in attached units to expect a relatively smoke-free living environment. However, the legalization of marijuana, first for medical purposes and now recreational use, has...
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...