Owner harassment of next-door tenant.

This is a dispute between neighbors and generally I say the HOA shouldn't get involved unless abuse/misuse of the common areas and/or several neighbors are involved.

What has the owner of the other unit said about all this? If the neighbor is harassing his/her tenants, it's not the board's responsibility to fix that. If that's why he/she hasn't gotten involved and wants the board to play cop, tell him/her that's not the association 's role. If the unit doesn't get rented because of the neighbor from hell, that's his/her problem.

It sounds like you're on the board, but you don't have to respond if she uses the N-word or other offensive language. Block her number to drive that message home. As for everything else, the board should know what warrants their attention or not. Ignore the noise and speak up when the complaint is legit.

In fact, why not publish an article in the association newsletter or website providing general suggestions on getting along and reminders on when the board will get involved? That way everyone gets the message and she can't whine about being singled out

And hang on to those missives from her (especially those texts). If she tries to sue because "the board isn't doing it's job," you have some interesting things to show the judge and she'll have to explain why scooters on the lawn are bringing the neighborhood down - and prove it. Judges HATE listening to foolishness

For the purposes of discussion, I will call the complaining owner "Owner K."

-- If there is any issue about the police reports, I agree the police reports and fallout from same are between the two neighbors.

-- This may very well be a 'driving while black' (or whatever race the owners are) situation. If so, of course it is unacceptable. If possible, consult the HOA attorney about whether the HOA should do anything with regard to the police reports. Like turn the texts with racial slurs over to the police? Because I have had it with rednecks. They make all our lives more difficult (of course, especially the lives of folks of color).

-- Of late I continue my quest for housing and while I see no unlawful redlining going on, it's clear the legacy of redlining has resulted in folks of color getting the short end of the stick today when it comes to housing appreciation. Doing things that may drive a family out of a HOA because of their race is not acceptable. I personally want Owner K put on notice.

-- A scooter left outside for a few minutes due to a child using the bathroom is not a violation. If it were, then I would say the HOA is likely violating the Fair Housing Act by doing things that discourage kids from living at the HOA. Ignore any complaints about the scooter being left out.

-- Owner K texted you because you are on the Board. You are one of several "agents" of the HOA. As a director and agent of the HOA, I tend to think you have a duty to inform the Board of the content of these texts. I suggest you forward all texts to the Board in their entirety. Strongly consider consulting the HOA attorney about the racial slurs Owner K texted you. Then ask the HOA attorney and Board to consider whether to send Owner K a formal letter stating that it will not tolerate violations of federal and state Fair Housing laws, including Fair Housing laws pertaining to an environment hostile on the basis of either race or familial status.

-- PatJ1, my understanding is that you yourself have standing to submit a Fair Housing complaint, because Owner K sending you texts with racial slurs makes you (regardless of what race you are) feel the neighborhood is hostile to certain groups on the basis of their race and hurts you. (I realize I am not really getting the wording of this right. My point is one does not have to be a member of the race against whom an offensive slur is made to have a valid Fair Housing complaint.)

-- Have the Board inform Owner K that it will only accept snail mailed communications regarding non-emergency situations. Because of the racial slurs, Owner K is now "special." I think the HOA needs to protect itself.

Thank you. Great responses. Very helpful in sorting out my thoughts and create a plan.

Hi,

When asking for reports/written letters, make it a requirement that the person complaining cite the exact rule that was broken.

If this continues to be an issue, and you suspect it may be racially motivated, it may be time to speak with a lawyer. The HOA needs to stop complying with her unreasonable asks.

We are getting involved. Putting together an email to our attorney. Have requested all calls for service from our local community police officer. All “violations” have been corrected except for an untidy back patio. We do not practice selective enforcement.

Owner K has now taken her harassment to social media. By doing so she has identified herself and our HOA community by name. She has also given the board more to pass on to our attorney.

The Board does not reply to social media posts.

I think I know the one you're talking about. It was a condo community in Virginia (?) and the board wasn't exactly ignoring the situation (which was egregious). The harassing owner received violation letters and I think was fined, but he ignored the letters and didn't pay the fines. Unfortunately, if I remember correctly, that state does not allow foreclosure based on non-payment of fines, so that option was out. Going through something like small-claims court would probably cost more than the outstanding fines (although you could make the argument that they should have done this anyway to prove that they were taking all possible actions). And of course a COA can't evict a homeowner.

I think this case was unfortunate all around. Boards' hands are tied in cases when the offending owner simply won't stop, since even offensive jerks have rights. If the board had overstepped, they would have risked being sued by the offender. And I disagreed with the court's finding that associations can control the offender's behavior. They can't, they can only impose penalties after the fact and hope that discourages future bad behavior. In this case it didn't. Only rental housing can be said to control tenants' behavior since they have the final say in the form of evictions.

There were no winners here except the jerk offender.

I think the case to which BenA2 and CathyA3 are referring may be the 1990s Washington DC condo case. The following describes this case, starting on page 15:

http://www.onlinehelp.com/library/fairhousinghistory.pdf .

This case has been cited in the past here. See for example https://www.hoatalk.com/Search/ForumSearch/tabid/87/forumid/1/postid/302370/view/topic/Default.aspx .

Repeating some, and from the pdf file linked above:

"The association did write letters to [the harassing resident, Thomas Schongalla], but did nothing to ensure that he stopped harassing [another resident, Deborah Reeves]. Because the association did next to nothing to stop Schongalla from harassing her, Reeves took her complaint to the Fair Housing Council. The Council helped Reeves file a federal lawsuit against the association, alleging that the association had violated the Fair Housing Act because it took no action against Schongalla. The Council's activities are partially funded by HUD's Fair Housing Initiatives Program."

Aug's comment (repeating from the thread linked above):
The racial harassment was express; violent in words and threats; and went on for several years. The victim, Deborah Reeves, was an attorney in 1998 (and may very well still be practicing). I expect Ms. Reeves documented extensively. The message I take from this 22 year old fair housing case is that the condo association should have done way more than write letters. Like threaten suit. Like fine, if possible. Maybe this is with the benefit of hindsight. Maybe this is because I have been watching hostile environment discrimination (against a protected class) cases since about 1986, when the Supreme Court ruled unanimously, 9-0, that an environment hostile on the basis of sex, race et cetera could be discrimination that is unlawful under the 1964 Civil Rights Act.