Have you ever felt harassed by a homeowner or even a board member? If so, you join the growing number of board members and managers harassed each year. Harassment has become a serious and far reaching problem for many associations, boards and managers. Not only are rude and abusive owners a bigger problem these days, but often conflicting opinions between board members and managers on how to deal with abusive owners causes friction within the association.
 
What exactly constitutes “harassment?” Harassment is defined as words, gestures and actions which tend to annoy, alarm or abuse another person.  There are two major types of harassment: criminal and civil.  Each municipality may define “criminal harassment” differently, so depending on where you live, an action may or may not be “criminal harassment.” There is also a state statute prohibiting harassment. Civil harassment involves the filing of a complaint against an abusive individual whereby damages or injunctive relief can be requested from the court. Before you consider filing a civil lawsuit, you should consider the following tips:
 
Amend your governing documents. If your governing documents contain provisions against the harassment of all persons within the development, including managers, staff and vendors, then you can protect yourselves against abusive behavior. If your current documents do not have such language, then your board should consider amending them. Your board can also adopt a rule regarding harassment, however, it is better if such language is contained in the declaration.
 
Establish codes of conduct. Your board should adopt a code of conduct for residents. The code of conduct should prohibit profanity, taunting, stalking, repeated excessive phone calls, disruptive behavior, abusive letter writing and violence. A separate conduct code for board and member meetings should also be considered. Time limits for open forums at meetings should be established in writing and adhered to. The code of conduct should be in writing and distributed to everyone in attendance at each meeting. If the proper decorum cannot be followed due to an abusive individual, then the meeting should be adjourned and reconvened at a later date. The disruptive individual must be given a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated by the board.
 
Establish procedures for complaints and requests. Written procedures for processing complaints and requests should be established and responses should be timely and consistent. If personality conflicts arise, the Board should consider changing the contact person or establish an intermediary to assist with those conflicting parties. A grievance procedure which includes detailed documentation of the situation should be instituted.
 
Upon internal review, the abusive individual should be contacted, given an opportunity to respond, and then a written finding should be made. A written system of warnings, hearings and fines should be distributed and adhered to. The rules can require that a repeat offender be excluded from personal contact with the board or manager. In addition, rules can require offenders to put all their objections in writing.
 
All procedures should be in writing and strictly enforced.  On occasion, associations must rely on outside resources such as mediation and litigation.   Always remember, that if conduct involves threats of physical harm to an individual or if an individual is afraid for his/her safety, the appropriate law enforcement should be contacted immediately. Never ignore the abusive, unruly person, and remember that abuse of a manager or board is abuse of the association. It can be as damaging, costly and dangerous to the association as a physical assault.