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Now that the weather is warming, residents are taking to the sidewalks, walking trails and open spaces of their Community Associations.  Here are some reminders for property managers and board members.

Homeowners’ Associations are not required to protect residents from dogs

With everyone out walking their dogs and children soon to be out of school, Associations often ask if they are required to make rules and regulations to control dogs.  Associations are not required to protect residents from other people’s pets.

But, if the Association does create rules and regulations to control dogs, it needs to enforce them.Continue Reading Reminders for Condominiums and Homeowners’ Associations: People Coming Out of Their Homes Edition

At the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021, airlines began changing their rules with respect to emotional support animals.  United, American, Delta, Jet Blue and Southwest Airlines (as well as many local and regional air carriers) have decided that emotional support animals are not permitted on flights.  Trained service dogs, however, are still permitted on flights.

Despite these recent changes, the rules that apply to airlines are not the same as the ones that apply to housing.  I have written a number of posts about emotional support animals and where they can go:

These blog posts cover situations when someone requests an emotional support animal in relation to housing.  These cases often come up when a condominium or apartment building does not permit pets and someone requests a reasonable accommodation to allow a support animal.

In today’s post, I want to make sure that associations and landlords do not get confused and try to follow the recent examples of the airlines.Continue Reading Are Dogs Allowed on Airlines? An Update on Emotional Support Animals

On February 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that it will begin to enforce the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  This is a significant change because in many states, including Pennsylvania, a person’s sexual orientation and/or gender identification has not been treated as a protected class.

Moving forward, housing providers, like landlords and condominium and homeowners’ associations, will need to treat sexual orientation and gender identity the same way that they treat race, color, gender, nationality, disability and familial status.

Reasonable Accommodations

Most of my posts on Lancaster Law Blog that deal with the Fair Housing Act talk about emotional support animals. All of the emotional support animal stories involve someone with a disability requesting a reasonable accommodation.Continue Reading The Fair Housing Act Will Enforce Prohibition on Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Any time I can use Schoolhouse Rock to explain a complicated legal issue, I have to jump on it.  Today is one of those days.  On June 9, the Pennsylvania Senate and House of Representatives adopted Concurrent Resolution 836.  The Concurrent Resolution said that the state of disaster emergency due to COVID-19 was over…

For weeks, associations, municipalities, children’s day camps and public swimming pool organizations have been trying to decide if they could open summer recreation facilities such as pools, parks and playgrounds.  The state has only recently released directions on how to open businesses, like construction, in a socially distant way.

Going into the Memorial Day…

Beginning on May 1, 2020, Pennsylvania will allow businesses that are involved in construction to open. These construction businesses must follow state guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

Reopening construction will allow some workers to return to their jobs and some people to move into their new homes.  

However, just because Pennsylvania construction …

In the past few weeks, we have looked at many of the economic stimulus and consumer protection parts of the CARES Act. A minor section in the Act has also corrected the “Retail Glitch” of 2018’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). This correction will now allow business owners to depreciate improvements and equipment – …

**UPDATE 5/9/2020**  Governor Wolf ordered all foreclosures and evictions delayed until July 10, 2020.  If a mortgage company, landlord or manufactured home park owner has already sent out the required paperwork to start a foreclosure or eviction (Act 6 or 91 Notice, Notice to Quit, MHCRA Notice, etc.), they have to start all of the…

The CARES Act makes several changes to how people can use their retirement accounts during the coronavirus crisis – in particular, how they can use their retirement distributions. These provisions are another way to help people through the financial strain of this year.

Distributions from Retirement Plans

The CARES Act allows retirement distributions from an …