Blog

By Brian R. Griffin, Esq. January 18, 2022 Posted in Community Association Law Share

On June 24, 2021, tragically the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, FL, collapsed. Investigation revealed that construction defects, long-term water infiltration, and years of deferred maintenance may have all led to the collapse and the death of 98 people.

By Jennifer L. Alexander, Esq. January 17, 2022 Posted in Community Association Law Share

On December 20, 2021, New Jersey’s Legislature passed S. 4112/A. 5549 (2021); and, on January 10, 2022, Governor Murphy signed the bill into law. The law, while short, is immensely helpful to Community Associations throughout the state, many of which have adapted to the new remote meeting procedures previously permitted during the COVID-19 State of Emergency.

By Jennifer L. Alexander, Esq. January 12, 2022 Posted in Community Association Law Share

On June 30, 2021, New Jersey’s Legislature passed S. 2861/A. 5390 (2021), which was signed into law by Governor Murphy on November 8, 2021. It has since been approved as P.L.2021, c.274, and will be codified as N.J.S.A. § 46:15-15 to 18. which requires that any deed filed after January 1, 2022, must not contain any language that violates Sections 4 or 11 of New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”). Community Associations will have to review their current Governing Documents to ensure compliance and will have to amend them if necessary.

By Jennifer L. Alexander, Esq. June 29, 2021 Posted in Community Association Law Share

The State of New Jersey recently passed new protections for community associations regarding potential civil actions involving alleged exposure or transmission of COVID-19 within the community. Specifically, the Assembly and the Senate have passed Senate Bill 3584 which provides additional tort immunity for community associations than was available under existing law. The law has been passed in the legislature and is currently awaiting the Governor’s signature, which we do expect to be completed shortly.

By Jennifer L. Alexander, Esq. March 19, 2021 Posted in Community Association Law Share

Determining whether to open Association facilities or keep them closed this year is a harder choice than ever, in our ever-changing Covid-19 environment. It is mid-March, 2021, but we have experienced our first 60 degree day. It has been a year since Covid-19 hit.  Everyone thought that the safeguards would be temporary, but we are learning that nothing is easy in this pandemic. The vast majority of Associations closed their facilities last year, and nearly all have remained closed.

By Jennifer L. Alexander, Esq. November 20, 2020 Posted in Community Association Law Share

We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy heading into the holidays and especially during the recent rise in COVID‑19 infections.

A lot of states are responding to the current spike in Coronavirus diagnoses by implementing more severe guidelines and restrictions. New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are no different in this regard. Particularly, in recent days, we have seen limits placed on the number of people who can gather in one place instituted in all three states:

October 30, 2020 Posted in Community Association Law Share

Our office previously wrote a blog in 2018 about the current status of pending bills in the Senate and Assembly regarding car charging stations in common interest communities. You can read that blog here. The bill NJ S.B. 2421 (2018) was passed by the Assembly and the Senate on January 13, 2020. However, when the bill went before the Governor, it was pocket vetoed on January 21, 2020. This means that the Governor did not directly respond to the bill and point out any objections.

By Matthew Meyers, Esq. July 17, 2020 Posted in Community Association Law Share

For every condominium and homeowner association, "control" is eventually transferred by the developer to an owner-controlled governing board after construction. This is called "transition." A successful transition is one in which the owner-controlled board works with the developer to ensure appropriate governance, adequate financial resources, and a properly designed and constructed community. But what happens when negotiations fail?

By Jennifer L. Alexander, Esq. June 24, 2020 Posted in Community Association Law Share

On May 18, 2020, Regulations to the Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act (PREFDA) were adopted and published by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), without giving community associations an opportunity to prepare to implement them.