Michigan Condo & HOA Law

I recently received a call from a co-owner whose condominium association has a bylaw restriction against dogs and she wanted to know what she could do to get the bylaw changed.

For any changes made to the bylaws, one must get a sufficient number of co-owners to approve the amendment. In this case the co-owner might argue that based upon a survey of the Americans' Awareness of First Amendment Freedoms developed by the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum in Chicago, "one out of five Americans believe that the first amendment grants citizens the right to own and raise pets.” She might also indicate the real estate benefits to allowing pets in the condominium based upon the number of people that have or would like to have pets, assuming, of course, that the association has adequate restrictions to deal with them.

Posted by Robert Meisner at 10:35 AM | Permalink

I recently talked with an association board who was considering having a surveillance camera placed on the premises and they wondered if I had any comments regarding the benefits of surveillance cameras.

It may well be a good idea based upon an incident in Florida where a board member was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, and impersonating a police officer when he became over zealous in enforcing a bylaw provision at the pool of the condominium. He denied pulling out a gun but a surveillance video clearly showed him pointing a gun at a resident and a guest. In that case, video surveillance was indeed beneficial. You should check with your association attorney concerning all the ramifications of it.

Posted by Robert Meisner at 12:18 PM | Permalink