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Q & A
Each month we answer legal related questions submitted from our readers.
Q: With this being election year, what are the legalities of placing political signs in the common areas of an HOA? Our Declaration prohibits advertising signs anywhere in the common areas. Can we enforce a "no political advertising" policy on common area?
A: Yes. The common areas or common elements of an association are either owned by and/or under the exclusive control of the association. As such, the association through its board of directors may enforce restrictions even if they do inhibit free speech. As a result, an association with (or without) a no sign provision in its declaration may restrict political signs on common areas during an election. Many associations that do make an exception and permit political signs during an election will limit the number, size and location of the signs and how long the signs may be left up.
Q: If a director is being harassed by a member of the association concerning association business, can the association pay for the legal fees and costs that the director incurs to get protections in the form of an anti-harassment order or injunction?
A: The board needs to act in the best interest of the association, and if a director is unable to carry out the association's business due to harassment, the board can make a business decision to protect the volunteer director by having the association obtain a court injunction prohibiting the owner from further harassing the board member. The associations' documents should be carefully reviewed for special or implicit authority to expend association funds, however, based upon the facts as presented it appears to be an appropriate association expenditure.
* Please email or fax your questions with your name and contact information to: QAcolumnist@ortenhindman.com or 303.432.0999. Due to the volume of questions received, we cannot guarantee an answer.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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Community Associations Institute
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The Community Associations Institute (CAI) is a nonprofit organization that provides education and resources to community associations. To find out more about CAI visit www.caionline.org
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