disclosure of complaints

should disclosure of complaints be made when fines are imposed. we have a situation where the property manager said someone complained on the 8th floor about a neighbors cat that had accidentally been lock out of it's owners unit, however everyone on the floor stated that they did not complain and in fact would sign a petition to that fact. Shouldn't the property manager have to have a complaint in writing, especially if a situation could possibly impose a fine?

PS: Speaking in the "royal" or "generic" "you," of course. Not the "specific" "you."

If the cat was outside the unit in violation of the rules then the cat was outside the unit in violation of the rules.

I would also note that it is entirely possible that the person complaining would sign a petition stating they didn't tell.

But there is yet another possibility. Someone (or their guest) from another floor may have seen it and complained. And why shouldn't they? Should those on the 8th floor get to live by different rules just because they have apathetic neighbors? Should the rules only apply to those who share a floor with a neighbor who is quick to complain?

Beyond this, since no fine was issued where is the harm? Certainly if the accusation wasn't substantiated then it should not count in any infraction count. Tell the people they are out of kindergarten and now have permission to grow up and act like the adult they supposedly are.

Good grief.

Every local reporting agency (and even some federal ones) allows for anonymous complaints. I'm quite sure they have a few more people to manage.

After all, our metro area is close to a million people.

Animal control allows for anonymous complaints.

Our local police allow for anonymous complaints.

Our Metro Zoning Enforcement allows for anonymous complaints.

Our "Report a Litterer" program allows for anonymous complaints.

What's this "face your accuser" stuff? I mean, seriously, this isn't anyone getting arrested. This is notification of a contract violation.

Either it's verifiable, or it's not. If it's not verifiable, then there's no complaint sent.

Besides, what business does the HOA have getting involved in 2:00 a.m. noise complaints, anyway? That's a job for the local police. And I'm pretty sure (no, I'm positive) that they would take an anonymous call on that.

I recall (as in "pull back") that statement if your CC&Rs specifically address "noise." Ours does not.

Thank goodness.

Hi Sandy,

In our Rules and Regulations we have the following procedure to report violations. I am sure that you have this information in your Bylaws or Rules and Regulations.

Thanks,

Gordon

RULES AND VIOLATION REPORT

There must be two Owners representing two separate residences of the Neighborhood to pursue violations that can not be viewed during an inspection of the Neighborhood (i.e., barking dog, noise nuisance, garage storage, etc.). Please be specific as possible to allow the Neighborhood Board to expedite the process in a timely manner. All alleged violations will be evaluated to ensure they are considered an infraction as defined by the Neighborhood Association’s legal documents.

ENFORCEMENT POLICY

Discovery of Violation

A. Any violation that is an alleged violation of the Neighborhood Restrictions or the Rules and
Regulations will be processed according to the procedure outline herein.

B. In the event one or more Members of the Neighborhood Association or the Neighborhood
Board would act as follows:

1) Send a letter to the Owner stating the alleged violation and date needed to cure said
violation.

2) Upon expiration of the cure date, if the violation still exists, a second letter will be sent
stating that the failure to abide by Neighborhood Association Rules and Regulations has
imposed a hardship on the Neighborhood Association and the Owner will be notified to
attend a hearing no less than fifteen (15) business days prior to the hearing with the
Neighborhood Board.

3) The Owner will be notified five (5) business days as to the decision rendered by the
Neighborhood Board as a result of the hearing. If the Owner is found to be in violation
of the Neighborhood Association’s documents, the Neighborhood Board will either (a)
seek remedy by use of alternative dispute resolution such as mediation or arbitration, (b)
levy a Special Assessment, (c) suspend the respondent’s voting privileges, (d) enter upon
a Condominium to perform maintenance which is the responsibility of the respondent, (e)
record a notice of noncompliance, or (f) a combination thereof.

4) If the decision is to pursue a monetary fine system, The Neighborhood
Association Fine Schedule will apply.

NOTE: A violation is defined as an act in conflict with the Neighborhood Restrictions,
Bylaws, Rules and Regulations of the Neighborhood.

FINE SCHEDULE

1. A letter will be sent to the Owner stating the alleged violation and request the Owner to
comply within a specific time frame.

2. The second hearing letter will be sent to the Owner stating that the alleged violation
continues and this letter will request the Owner appear before the Neighborhood Board
for a hearing. If the result of the hearing is a monetary fine, it will be applied to the
Owner’s account.

3. The hearing shall be held before the Board of Directors in Executive Session.
Additionally, the following protocol shall be observed:
a. At such hearing the Member so charged shall have the right to present oral and/or
written evidence and confront and cross-examine witnesses. (Request to confront
and cross examine witnesses must be presented to the Board or Directors at least
seven (7) business days prior to the hearing date).
b. Hearings will not be rescheduled at the convenience of the Member in alleged
violation. Members who do not choose to attend the hearing may submit written
evidence for Board consideration.

4. If the violation is sanctioned at the hearing, then the Board of Directors may take one
of the following actions:
a. Levy a special assessment or penalty in the amount of $75.00 for the first thirty (30)
day period of any continuing infraction; $125.00 for the second thirty (30) day period;
$175.00 for the third thirty (30) day period and a maximum of $225.00 for the fouth
thirty (30) day period.
b. Suspend or condition the homeowner’s privileges established under the Declaration;
c. Suspend the homeowner’s voting privileges established under the Declaration;
d. Record a notice of non-compliance if allowed by law.
e. Submit the matter to legal counsel for further action. This will take place in
accordance with California Civil Code 1354 and the rules of the American Arbitration
Association.

The results of the hearing, including any action to be taken, shall be delivered to the
Member within five (5) business days following the date of the hearing.

5. If the violation continues past the hearing and first fine stage, additional hearings will
be schedule with the Owner and the fines may be doubled with each hearing. Any fines
not paid may result in legal action in accordance with California Law.

6. The Neighborhood Board may determine to use alternative dispute resolutions or cause
correction of the violation to effect a cure and the Owner may be responsible for legal
fees and/or reimbursement of costs to the Neighborhood Association.

NOTE: Should a violation occur which imposes a financial obligation on the Neighborhood
Association, the party responsible for said violation shall reimburse, by way of a Special
Assessment, the Neighborhood Association for this financial obligation. If for example,
a party damages a fence, tree or any other Association Property or Common Property,
repair and replacement costs will be charged to that party.

The rules for all the associations we manage read in much the same way with a few modficiations to meet the new requirements of SB-100 pr quirks of each association

I don't see the point at all. Again, not

Why are you handling that sort of thing and not the police?

There is no need for the board to verify something that is the responsibility of the police department.

If it is a repeated thing, then it's a simple matter of having the person complaining invest a little sweat equity and have them either record or call a board member AS IT'S HAPPENING.

As to your other scenarios, every single one of them is not something that the board should be getting involved in.

Again, if you are going after the issue as a "nuisance" issue, then once the complaint is made, set up a process to be able to have a board member called in as the action is happening, regardless of the date/time.

If the person complaining takes dated pictures, that would help.

But again, your scenarios are more issues of neighbor disputes and not CC&R governed infractions or violations.

Why is the board micro-managing (or attempting to micro-manage) neighbor relationships?

In addition, there are times when we cannot confirm a violation so the first notice could quite simply be worded, "It has come to our attention that X, Y, and Z is occurring on your lot (in your unit) in violation of XXX Covenant. If this action is occurring we'd like to take this opportunity to remind you of the XXX Covenant and cease X, Y, and Z activity. If this report has been made in error, or the X, Y, and Z issue is not occurring, please disregard this reminder."

But I can assure you, we use that particular approach very rarely.

Colorado culture is different I guess. I trained in CA and yes the type of scenerio I outlined would have been a police matter there. here the boards' and owners' expect a different activity by the association.

We do advise that they call the police in these situations especially since the association is quite limited in what it can do and the effect they can have to correct the bad behavior of people.

Get a board member to get out of bed and confront someone at 2:00 am? that made me laugh thank you If I could I can think of two board members out of say 100 that we have that would do so.

We do have qualifying language in our violation letters and the first carries no penalty at all it is more of a courtesy notice.

If your HOA can have someone go and verify a complaint then the person verifying the complaint can become the accuser. But in a court of law if there is no accuser the accused is declared "not guilty."

The question becomes do we issue a notice without sending somebody to confirm the violation. In my opinion there is no right answer to this. Sometimes the violation will be gone before the verification can take place. But if you don't send someone to verify the situation then you do need to rely on the person making the complaint to be willing to stand up in a hearing should one be requested.

Now if you send someone out and they see the violation there is no reason the person who "dropped the dime" or tipped you off need to be revealed. They got caught end of story.

In this particular case someone should be willing to say "I saw your cat in the hall." Or if someone emailed a photo from their phone that clearly shows the cat outside the door it should be enough to show the photo. Who took the picture becomes immaterial.

That pretty much hits it on the head. Pictures are worth a thousand words and become the "accuser" with the taker of the picture then out of the "picture"