Every Homeowners Association (HOA) meeting involves discussions impacting people’s lives, quality of life, property values, and finances—all topics with plenty of pitfalls and unintended consequences that may lead to arguments. Sometimes these discussions can result in shouting matches or even injuries, such as in the case of a Condo Manager in Atlanta who was recently killed by a disgruntled resident.
The question is: What are the signs that these discussions have crossed the line into harassment against board members, harassment by board members against unit owners, and unit owners versus unit owners? Many HOA board members will have stories of that one homeowner who is constantly argumentative, disrespectful, and treats their opinion as fact. If these discussions do turn into HOA board member harassment, people must know the appropriate way to identify the behavior and respond to it.
Is it Harassment?
Defining unacceptable behavior is vital to facilitating healthy, calm discussions during HOA meetings. As with many legal matters, the answer to whether a homeowner’s behavior is simply rude or has turned to harassment isn’t always straightforward. Yet, this is an increasingly relevant topic, as the number of complaints about homeowners harassing board members is increasing every year.
Harassment can be defined as words, gestures, or actions that annoy, alarm, or abuse another person, but there’s more nuance to it than that. HOAs have covenants that typically guarantee the right to the “quiet enjoyment” of their homes. This quiet enjoyment isn’t related to noise, but rather that they have the right to live in their communities without being annoyed, harassed, or otherwise interfered with as long as they comply with the governing documents and community rules. In this way, frequent calls or letters to someone’s home that contain insults or threats could be considered harassment.
This still leaves room for debate about when annoying behavior toward HOA board members becomes harassment, but typically the common types of harassment encountered will be:
- Verbal and physical threats: Such as when a homeowner blocks a board member from leaving the meeting or sends rude letters to their home weeks after the session has ended.
- Threats of property: When someone threatens to destroy another person’s property.
- Cyber bullying: Posting online with the intention of harming someone or distributing information on the Internet without vetting the accuracy of the information.
Also read: Managing Cyber Liability and Data Security in Community Associations
Define Harassment for your Community
In an ideal world, the board can communicate openly and honestly with their community. To facilitate this, HOA board members should clearly define harassment in its bylaws—the operating manual for the community association.
Harassment is often the result of:
- Not understanding what it means to live in an HOA.
- The failure of buyers to read the governing documents before they purchase and move into the HOA.
- Not understanding the role and limitations of the board members they elected.
- A lack of procedure or protocol in governing meetings.
Compliance with these items can protect your board and community members from negative and potentially harmful interactions with one another. Boards should consider implementing the Community Association Institute Civility Pledge to ensure everyone has a shared understanding of expectations. Consider working with a community association manager or community association attorney to present this to HOA members to emphasize the significance of this issue.
Also read: Four Habits for More Effective HOA Boards
Respond Appropriately to HOA Board Member Harassment
Just as defining harassment can be confusing, there is no clear-cut way to respond to harassment for board members. However, there are still steps that any board member should take.
- Do not react. If there is official meeting protocol in place, the unit owner should be given the opportunity to state their position in the same manner and for the same period as any other unit owner.
- If the unit owner who is harassing a board will not comply with the rules, adjourn the meeting, and indicate that a new notice will be issued for the continued meeting. Do not indicate why it is being adjourned as that should be clear.
- If the unit owner conducts themselves the same harassing manner, adjourn the meeting again. Then, speak with the association’s attorney to determine if a legal measures would be appropriate, stating that the unit owner’s conduct is preventing the HOA from conducting a meeting. At this point, action should not be taken without the advice of the association’s counsel.
- Document everything. Take notes of the behavior and how it prevents the HOA from conducting business.
In all instances, the HOA board member must not escalate the situation. They should remain calm and follow processes as best they can. Homeowners have a right to voice their concerns, and it is up to board members to ensure they feel their concerns are being listened to. Setting clear boundaries from the outset on what is acceptable behavior will help manage expectations and communicate to passionate homeowners that feedback is appreciated, but harassment against HOA board members will not be tolerated.
Consider Investing in Insurance
Bringing people together can naturally lead to conflict. Harassment laws may help protect individuals and board members, but the HOA must have comprehensive insurance coverage in the case of lengthy lawsuits or other legal proceedings.
McGowan Program Administrators provides comprehensive Directors and Officers Liability Insurance as well as Community Associations Umbrella Insurance coverage to protect community associations from actions against the board members or associations. The insurance protection is triggered when a community member brings a claim against the board or specific board members are not acting within their capacity as a board member.
Contact us today to learn more about our highly customizable coverage options.
