Stale violations?

Started by BillD16 • 4 replies • 300 views

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BillD16 (Texas)
Posts: 980

Posted:

The PM for my neighborhood did violation patrol, wrote up a bunch of violations, and then went on vacation - neglecting to actually *send*. the violation notices out to people. So they’ve been sitting in a queue for a week now.

In the past, the PM has made a big deal about how the violation notices need to go out in a timely manner.

Personally, I think that if he messed up and didn’t send them for a week, they should all be invalidated and deleted.

Thoughts? When does a violation go “stale’?

BillD

HOA Board ex-President
Austin, Texas USA

“You can’t put too much water in a nuclear reactor”

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,968

Posted:

There's the violation itself and the timely notice of said notice. If the violation still exists at the time the notice is sent it's still a violation and should be addressed by the homeowner.

That said, the property manager should have ensured the notices were in the mail BEFORE going on vacation. If you're on the board, you and your colleagues should make that clear. It's also possible The letters were sent, but delivery by the post office was slow. In fact, for those of you who haven't paid attention, the post office announced starting Oct.1, delivery in many areas was going to slow down and postage is increasing from 55 cents to 58 cents. A letter that normally took, say, 2 days, to arrive will now take 3 or 4. Might even be 5, depending on where you arcane where you're heading. I heard the western part of the country will really be affected.

That's all the more reason the association will need to ensure all sorts of mail gets out as soon as possible. In the meantime, you could extend the deadline for compliance by 2 or 3 days past what's on the letter. If you received a notice and are still in violation, you're still wrong. Fix it and do better!

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

BillD16 (Texas)
Posts: 980

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SheliaH on 10/05/2021 3:58 AM
There's the violation itself and the timely notice of said notice. If the violation still exists at the time the notice is sent it's still a violation and should be addressed by the homeowner.

That said, the property manager should have ensured the notices were in the mail BEFORE going on vacation. If you're on the board, you and your colleagues should make that clear. It's also possible The letters were sent, but delivery by the post office was slow. In fact, for those of you who haven't paid attention, the post office announced starting Oct.1, delivery in many areas was going to slow down and postage is increasing from 55 cents to 58 cents. A letter that normally took, say, 2 days, to arrive will now take 3 or 4. Might even be 5, depending on where you arcane where you're heading. I heard the western part of the country will really be affected.

That’s interesting about the postage, thanks.

Yes, I’m on the Board. And I know the notices weren’t emailed / mailed because the management portal system we use shows that they haven’t gone out.

I’m frustrated because this is simply the latest in a long line of screw-ups by our PM. But no-one else on the Board seems to care.

BillD

HOA Board ex-President
Austin, Texas USA

“You can’t put too much water in a nuclear reactor”

MichaelH34 (North Carolina)
Posts: 179

Posted:

Is there anything in your rules or contract with the PM that defines "timely?"

Seems to me that if left undefined it's up to everyone's interpretation. Some infractions might need an immediate notice and some might be just fine if they didn't go out for weeks.

Not to say you should try to define what's timely for every possible kind of infraction...

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,968

Posted:

Michael brings up some good points - in addition to the mail issue, perhaps you and your colleagues need to consider what issues should be addressed right away compared to things that can wait. For example, if the issue concerns, say a dilapidated fence and you're asking the owner to fix it, replace it or knock it down, the changing weather in your area may mean this will have to wait until next spring (unless you have the owner fix the problem before, say Nov. 30). Safety could also be a factor - dog poop everywhere can attract vermin, and the homeowners who don't clean up after their pets should be told and subject to more action as appropriate.

You also say your property manager has made several "screw-ups", but the rest of the board doesn't seem to care. It's possible that YOU'RE the one nit-picking - maybe some of these issues are occurring because of staff shortages. Everyone's having a problem with that, and the folks who are left are doing the best they can, so you might want to think about that. Along with considering everything that's happened and why especially the impact on the homeowners. Consider focusing on the "screw ups" that affect a lot of homeowners or causing delays to maintenance.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

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