Page 7 - CooperatorNews New Jersey Fall 2021
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NJ.COOPERATORNEWS.COM 
COOPERATORNEWS NEW JERSEY 
 —FALL 2021  
7 
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 
Legal 
Q 
A& 
Disclaimer: Th  e answers provided in this Q&A  
column are of a general nature and cannot  
substitute for professional advice regarding your  
specifi c circumstances. Always seek the advice of  
competent legal counsel or other qualifi ed profes- 
sionals with any questions you may have regard- 
ing technical or legal issues. 
Relying on Verbal Authorization 
Q 
On  March  31, 2020,  aft er  call- 
ing my HOA, I was given verbal  
permission  to  replace  my  roof,  
which was leaking. I signed a contract to  
replace the roof on April 15, 2020. Now the  
board has sent me a letter with a $500 fi ne  
for not getting a permit and doing ‘nones- 
sential’ work during COVID-19. All I have  
to prove their permission is phone calls on  
my cell—no texts or voicemail, just a re- 
cord that calls were made. Is this enough  
to fi ght their actions? 
                               —But Th  ey Said I Could 
A 
“Th  e owner complains that  
he was given verbal authori- 
zation to replace the roof by  
his homeowners association (HOA),” says  
Anne P. Ward, of counsel with Ehrlich,  
Petriello, Gudin, Plaza & Reed, PC, with  
offi  ces in Newark and Morristown, “but  
was surprised to be subsequently fi ned by  
the HOA’s board of  directors for: a) fail- 
ure to obtain a (municipal?) permit and,  responsible for adhering to municipal re- 
b) doing non-essential work during the  quirements, and must obtain necessary  is still subject to restrictions adopted dur- 
COVID-19 pandemic. Th  e owner does not  permits. An HOA is powerless to waive  ing the pandemic under the state’s police  
say who told him it was acceptable to re- 
place his roof. Did this authorization come  tions make it clear to applicants who seek  
from the property manager or the manage- 
ment offi  ce? Did this authorization come  state and municipal requirements are a  place itself at risk. I suggest that the owner  
directly from the board? Given the dates  prerequisite to the HOA’s permission. 
referenced, the owner apparently started  
construction during the pandemic.  
“My answer to the question is twofold:  advise an owner that ownership is subject  understanding of his obligations and the  
an owner must always refer to his associa- 
tion’s governing documents to learn the pa- 
rameters of the association’s power, as well  documents upon purchase of a unit. He is  ment may not prevail in light of the fact  
as  the  specifi cs  of  his  own  obligations  in  assumed by law to be on notice as to their  that there is no proof of the authorization  
every circumstance. And it is always pru- 
dent to have any authorizations reduced  virtue of the purchase.    
to writing by the source, along with details  
describing the limits of the authorization.  
“To begin, an HOA and its property  scribed by an owner’s obligation to comply  
are always subject to state and municipal  with municipal ordinances. Here, there  
ordinances. Th  e HOA is not exempt from  was apparently a need to obtain a munici- 
those obligations simply because it is gov- 
erned by its own rules and may have dis- 
crete regulations governing construction  of state or municipal restrictions placed  
on the premises. Hence, an owner is always  on work during the pandemic. A work au- 
such requirements. Indeed, most associa- 
permission to perform construction that  by these laws and it must enforce them or  
“Moreover, it would be the rare govern- 
ing documents which do not specifi cally  or elimination of the fi ne based on a mis- 
to state and municipal laws. Every owner  fact that he entered a contract to replace  
is automatically subject to the governing  the roof, as a result. However, this argu- 
contents, and has agreed to be bound by  and because an owner is deemed to be on  
“Th  erefore, any authorization (verbal  
or otherwise) by an association is circum- 
pal permit prior to construction. In addi- 
tion, the construction apparently ran afoul  
thorization issued prior to the pandemic  
power. 
“As  stated  earlier,  the  HOA  is  bound  
communicate with the board or its counsel  
about all this. He can request a reduction  
notice of applicable law.”                               
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