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Articles
Monday, December 6, 2021
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, approximately 48 million households own at least one dog. Other estimates go as high as sixty-eight percent (68%) of all American households. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that thirty percent (30%) of Americans adopted a pet during the pandemic. Wherever the final tally falls, pet ownership is clearly woven into the fabric of community association living—and so are pet restrictions.
Although pet restrictions, such as number and size limitations, are common and often considered a positive instrument to keep property values up, associations may have a legal duty to allow an owner to keep emotional support animals, even if in violation of the CC&Rs. Read more . . .
Monday, November 8, 2021
Board, managers and owners alike will recall back to 2020, when Senate Bill 323 (“SB 323”) shook up association elections by limiting the number and type of candidate qualifications that could be enforced. Under current law for example, directors and candidates must be members of the association. SB 323 also provided for just four (4) disqualifiers that an association could enforce, through their governing documents: a) the owner is delinquent, b) they’ve been an owner for just one (1) year, c) they’ve had a past criminal conviction that would impact the association’s fidelity bond coverage, and d) if elected, they would be serving on the board at the same time as another board member/candidate who holds a joint ownership interest in the same separate interest.
One seemingly unintended consequence of SB 323 was that it made term limits effectively, unenforceable. In other words, associations could no longer set or enforce a maximum number of sequential terms that any one person could serve on the board, through their governing documents. Read more . . .
Sunday, September 5, 2021
Beaumont Tashjian is pleased to announce that Kumar Raja, Esq. has joined the firm. Kumar S. Raja, Esq. is a senior associate at Beaumont Tashjian, where he primarily handles the Firm’s litigation and enforcement matters. He also provides general counsel services for the Firm's diverse community association clientele on a wide array of subjects, including risk management and corporate governance. His passion is developing creative solutions which foster community harmony. Board member education and support are cornerstones of Mr. Raja's practice. Mr. Raja has over 10 years of experience representing common interest developments. Mr. Raja holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (Dean's Honor List), where he wrote for the school's newspaper (Daily Bruin). At Loyola Law School in Los Angeles (J.D. 2002), Mr. Raja participated in the school's Scott Moot Court Program and completed externships at the LA City Attorney's Office and U.S. Bankruptcy Court (Hon. Kathleen March). Mr. Raja is a proud member of Community Associations Institute (CAI) and has been an invited guest speaker at state and local CACM and CAI chapters throughout the state. He is an award-winning author having written several articles on Covid-19 topics and new legislation affecting common interest developments. kraja@HOAattorneys.com | 866.788.9998 Read more . . .
Monday, August 2, 2021
The homelessness crisis in Los Angeles is impossible to ignore. While it seems that over the years, the crisis has become embedded into the fabric of the City’s culture, with encampments such as Skid Row becoming household names, legislators and local leaders have continued to grapple with solving, or at least mitigating exacerbation of the situation. It’s also no secret that this hot button issue has left community association boards and managers wondering, “What is the City doing to help?” This question is more relevant than ever, given the pandemic’s impact on homelessness over the last year alone. As of the date of this letter, the State of California reports the highest homeless population by far, according to the U.S. Read more . . .
Monday, July 5, 2021
As you may be aware, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission is currently considering two ordinances meant to protect the City’s ridgelines: (1) the Ridgeline Protection Ordinance (CPC-2021-3001-CA), and (2) the Zone Change Ordinance (CPC-2021-3059-ZC). If implemented, these proposed ordinances would create a two-step process whereby the City Planner would re-zone much of the area located East of Interstate 405 to Coldwater Canyon Drive between Mulholland Drive and Sunset Boulevard. The Ridgeline Protection Ordinance coupled with the Zone Change Ordinance establish a new district in the Los Angeles Municipal Code and are intended to address maintenance of the ridgelines within the city. In short, this ordinance will be used to re-zone the lots located closest to ridgelines, create two new zoning designations, RP1 and RP2, and implement development regulations to “preserve and protect” the ridgelines that surround the City of Los Angeles. If approved, future buildings would be required to follow strict guidelines for construction, improvements and development including height and grading restrictions on nearly all of the lots between Interstate 405 and Laurel Canyon. Read more . . .
Monday, June 7, 2021
As you have heard, effective June 15th, the State of California and Governor Newsom have confirmed that restrictions and protocols related to the pandemic have been lifted. This means that counties are no longer placed into “tiers” based upon their COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations, and very limited mitigation measures are in place. Specifically, there are “no restrictions” for capacity or physical distancing, with respect to most venues. In other words, the association’s fitness center, clubhouse, swimming pool area, etc. may reopen fully, without limitations. Read more . . .
Monday, April 5, 2021
In this episode, Brittany A. Ketchum, Esq. was a guest on The HOA Show Podcast.
Read more . . .
Monday, March 1, 2021
Beaumont Tashjian’s Assessment Collection Technology Service (BT ACTS) is a 24-hour, full-service online collection recovery system that significantly streamlines your community’s collection process.
Delivering Real-Time Results
Now more than ever, boards need the very latest information regarding delinquent accounts in order to make informed and educated decisions in the collection process. BT ACTS eliminates archaic monthly status reports and allows managers to check the status of delinquent accounts online for real-time updates and information.
BT ACTS also tracks the relevant statutory time frames of each delinquent account so that unnecessary delays are not only minimized, but prevented. Our calendaring system alerts us to the “next step” which prevents unintentional hold-ups and guarantees prompt assessment recovery as soon as legally possible. Read more . . .
Monday, February 22, 2021
With Assembly Bill 3182 taking effect this past January, community association boards lost significant leeway to exercise their discretion and adopt/enforce rental restrictions. Though many rental restrictions, such as minimum lease term requirements, and “caps” on the total number of rentals within the community at a given time are intended to help maintain property values and minimize increases in insurance premiums, the State is nonetheless prioritizing expanding the pool of homes available to renters. Similarly, the Court in Lastavich v. Nob Hill Homeowners Association recently confirmed that short-term rentals are not considered an unauthorized commercial use of the home.
In this case, owners were using their condominium unit as a short-term vacation rental when a neighbor sued the association after becoming fed up with the increased foot traffic and alleged noise emanating from the unit and its various tenants.Read more . . .
Monday, February 8, 2021
As of the date of this publication, the State’s “Regional Stay at Home Order” has been lifted. This order shut down gatherings and imposed a strict curfew. What does this mean?
As you likely know, every county in California has been assigned to a tier based on its test positivity and case rate. In the absence of the Regional Stay at Home Order, associations should defer to county guidelines, which may begin to relax in the coming weeks or months, depending on the number of COVID-19 cases in the county.
The following summarizes the recent changes within each county which may or may not impact current association operations.Read more . . .
Monday, January 4, 2021
The vast majority of community associations in California are incorporated. This means they have filed Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State (“SOS”) and function as corporations within the meaning of the California Corporations Code. It also means the association must take on-going action to maintain its corporate status.
In order to keep the association’s corporate status in good standing, various administrative tasks are required. If these tasks are not completed and/or fall off the radar of the association, the consequences may be significant.Read more . . .
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