Amending an Association’s Governing Documents is the Practice of Law…at least in Florida
November 27, 2015

On May 14, 2015, the Supreme Court of the State of Florida rendered an advisory opinion on the activities of community association managers (which can be found here). The opinion addressed whether certain activities were, in the opinion of the Court, found to be the unlicensed practice of law. The Court held that certain practices…

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What happens when your neighbors change every week?
November 3, 2015

Meriam-Webster defines a “neighbor” as a “person who lives next to or near another person.” Most of the time our neighbors are familiar. What happens when that neighbor changes on a monthly or even a weekly basis? This is a question that homeowners and condominium associations are having to answer more and more frequently. With the…

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Can an Association Prohibit or Restrict Smoking?
October 2, 2015

Can an association prohibit or otherwise restrict smoking in the common areas or common elements? This is not a question one would typically hear for homeowners associations. Simply put, single family homes in planned developments typically have open air common spaces where smoking is not an issue. But, in condominiums or townhome developments, smoking can…

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Our Thoughts on the Proposed Neighborhood Protection Act
January 30, 2015

Last year, the Tennessee attorney general rendered an opinion on HB1982 (see Opinion No. 14-81), http://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/op/2014/op14-81.pdf.  Luckily, HB1982 died in last year’s legislative session. However, a new version will likely be resubmitted this year by State Representative Antonio Parkinson (see, http://wreg.com/2015/01/15/bill-could-force-ex-cons-out-of-tennessee-neighborhoods/). The act would permit a homeowners association, neighborhood association, neighborhood watch, or any organized…

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