I always enjoy reading legal advice, there are more scenario's on the link about however here is on that I found interesting.
Q: I live in a homeowners association and serve as chairman of the architectural review board (ARB). An owner recently submitted an application to repaint the exterior of his home a bright yellow color. The home is currently painted light brown. Our ARB rejected the application because we feel that the proposed bright color is aesthetically unpleasing and no other homes in our community are painted this color. The owner is protesting the ARB’s decision and threatening to sue. The owner alleges that the ARB is breaking the law by rejecting his color request because the association doesn’t have a specific list of permitted colors. Is the owner correct? Do we have to allow the owner to paint the exterior of their home bright yellow?
— B.M., Naples
A: Maybe. ARB disputes are one of the most common causes of litigation between a homeowners association and its members. The ARB is required to evaluate each ARB application based on the authority contained within the homeowners association’s governing documents and any properly adopted ARB guidelines. The Florida Homeowners Association Act (Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes) currently requires architectural standards or guidelines for a community to be “specifically stated or reasonably inferred as to such location, size, type, or appearance.” This law was adopted in 2007, and its retroactive application is a matter of some debate. Under current statutory law, decisions as to the exterior paint color of a given home should be based on documented architectural standards and cannot simply be based upon the “whim” of the ARB. That said, the legal analysis of this issue is often very fact-intensive. Prior decisions of the ARB, the community aesthetics and scheme of development will be material considerations.
Q: I live in a homeowners association and serve as chairman of the architectural review board (ARB). An owner recently submitted an application to repaint the exterior of his home a bright yellow color. The home is currently painted light brown. Our ARB rejected the application because we feel that the proposed bright color is aesthetically unpleasing and no other homes in our community are painted this color. The owner is protesting the ARB’s decision and threatening to sue. The owner alleges that the ARB is breaking the law by rejecting his color request because the association doesn’t have a specific list of permitted colors. Is the owner correct? Do we have to allow the owner to paint the exterior of their home bright yellow?
— B.M., Naples
A: Maybe. ARB disputes are one of the most common causes of litigation between a homeowners association and its members. The ARB is required to evaluate each ARB application based on the authority contained within the homeowners association’s governing documents and any properly adopted ARB guidelines. The Florida Homeowners Association Act (Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes) currently requires architectural standards or guidelines for a community to be “specifically stated or reasonably inferred as to such location, size, type, or appearance.” This law was adopted in 2007, and its retroactive application is a matter of some debate. Under current statutory law, decisions as to the exterior paint color of a given home should be based on documented architectural standards and cannot simply be based upon the “whim” of the ARB. That said, the legal analysis of this issue is often very fact-intensive. Prior decisions of the ARB, the community aesthetics and scheme of development will be material considerations.
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