Everyone would love to believe their HOA or condo building is a miniature utopia where everyone gets along and disagreements are well-nigh unheard of. Of course, if you have ever actually lived in a condo or HOA, you know that’s definitely wishful thinking.

While the vast majority of condo and HOA residents are perfectly pleasant folks who wouldn't dream of disrupting life in their building community, in any given population there will inevitably be that individual (or two) who make a hobby of verbally abusing their neighbors, harassing board members with calls and emails, and threatening lawsuits at the drop of a hat. These unit owners seem to thrive on disruption and drama, and their behavior can make life miserable for neighbors, board members, and managers alike.

Everybody Pays

While 'difficult' residents are, well, difficult, the cost of their antics goes beyond just annoying their neighbors or making board members groan every time their name pops up in an email inbox. Jennifer A. Loheac, an attorney and shareholder with the Morristown-based law firm Becker & Poliakoff says dysfunction in communities can have vast negative implications in many areas, affecting everything from board governance to the ability of residents to live together in harmony—and that, sadly, can impact value.

“In every community, there will always be certain personalities that cause problems, who tend to bully or threaten others, or fail to respect boundaries and become a nuisance,” she says. “I truly believe that managing problematic individuals effectively depends in large part on the overall competency of the community governance.”

There are individuals who are a nuisance and others who border on dangerous, and this is an important distinction—though one that may not always be clear from the start. According to Loheac, disruptive residents can range from the minority board member who attempts to incite a mutiny every time he or she disagrees with a board decision to people who stubbornly refuse to follow any of the community's rules.

“These violations range from making noise that disturbs other residents to storing items on porches and decks that are prohibited, to threatening people verbally at the pool or at the clubhouse,” she says. “In almost every community, whether a condo, co-op or HOA, there are complaints about people who don’t control dog barking, keep the dog leashed or pick up after their pet.”

Thomas Chilenski, president and senior property director of Cedarcrest Property Management in Fairfield says every property seems to have at least one troublemaker.

“We’ve seen some serious situations and disruptions from residents,” he says. As an example, he tells a story of one guy who lived in a unit and refused to follow any rules. One time, a leak was coming from his apartment and he wouldn’t allow a roofer or management to come inside the unit to check out the damage.

“He opened the door a crack, and refused to let anyone in—but said he would take a picture of the leak and show them that,” Chilenski says. “This guy lived in the back of the property, which bordered wetlands. On the other side was a high school and he would complain about kids coming from the school and going in the wetlands, even though it wasn’t our property. He would call the police, sued a contractor for stealing a bucket, and complained all the time.”

Don Cabrera, owner of Cabrera Property Management in Wildwood Crest, subscribes to the old theory that “you get more with sugar than lemons” and treats troublesome residents with a smile—at first.

“You have to treat them with respect and professionalism,” he says. “But if the issues continue to occur, it is the board’s responsibility to handle it so that the management contract is not compromised. There is no management contract worth ongoing frustration from a select owner or a select few.”

“Sometimes you just have to handle these people with kid gloves,” adds Chilenski, “but that doesn’t always work.”

Wasting Time

One problem with bullying individuals is the sheer volume of time they demand from boards and management. It can become a constant distraction for people just trying to do their job and run the community.

“These types of people become exhausting,” says Loheac. “They drain resources, both financially and in terms of board and management time. They rant and criticize, and if the board offers a reply, the resident immediately follows that up with another letter or email. And sometimes they don’t simply call or email. They show up at the office in person, so that the manager is cornered and forced to have a dialogue. There is a point where this becomes harassment.”

Sometimes, no matter how rational you try to be, a resident just won’t listen and it can grow increasingly frustrating. “We have a clause in our contract that allows management to charge more for dealing with this type of thing if it's left unaddressed and becomes too time consuming,” Cabrera says. “In the end, the decision of management to return to the property at the end of the term is the prerogative that needs considered.”

One of the problems, Chilenski says, is that people buy condos or a place in a community association and don’t understand that they are going to have to follow the rules and get along with others.

“Many have only known a single-home environment and they don’t know how to abide by community rules, or at least don’t want to,” he says. “It’s very difficult in those situations because you get a lot of pushback from people who refuse to follow the rules. It’s the opposite of what a good community should be.”

Taking Action

A competent board communicates well with each other and others. They rely on their professionals—lawyers, accountants and especially managers—to function cohesively. So, when you have disruptive individuals, there is a procedure in place for addressing the issue that is not arbitrary or capricious.

To Loheac, the best way to manage expectations is through effective, consistent, polite communications. “I always try to advise clients and management to refrain from sarcasm at all costs,” Loheac says. Even when a person is a major pain in the neck and has been unfair, nasty, and rude, it’s never a good idea to stoop to that level because when conflicts do escalate—and we know that they do—the sarcastic, unprofessional response in email or by letter by the board member or management draws negative attention and does not help your case at all.”

Chilenski says that every situation should be handled on a case-by-case basis and a management company should only go to the board for help as a last resort.

“You need to handle it as delicately and professionally as possible,” he says. “You have to let them know what the association rules are and advise them of the powers to help them if they can. When it comes to a point where you can’t resolve it, that’s when you get the board involved.”

According to Cabrera, eventually getting your legal team involved may be necessary, but a board should always start action by placing them on notice first.

If residents are fighting between themselves, Chilenski advises that a board never get involved. In those instances, a dispute resolution committee or mediator could be called on for help, or else it best be handled in court. “The problem is that board members step in all the time—it’s the nature of the beast,” he says. “You try to bite your tongue. We advise against it, but we will step out of their way if they don’t listen.”

Threats & Suits

If a resident threatens to sue over something, Loheac has one sound piece of advice—let them! “I can’t tell you how many times individuals make that threat, even when he or she has not suffered a personalized harm,” she says. “Sometimes the people are serious, but most of the time, it’s a lot of talk. Sometimes, the people are serious. The best that any community can do is to first alert both counsel and the insurance company to threats of a suit.”

If the attorney is not able to work with the person or his or her own attorney constructively, then sometimes filing an actual lawsuit is a necessary evil. That’s why communities have coverage in the first place.

“While no community wants a lawsuit, certain motivated individuals with an agenda are going to do it anyway,” Loheac continues, “and it may not be worth the year of painful accommodations to an unreasonable individual if the matter is going to end up in litigation anyway. Of course, these things need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but my main point is that the boards should not allow a community to be held hostage to one or more individual’s sabotage for fear of a lawsuit. Anyone can bring a suit—but not just anyone can prevail in a lawsuit without legitimate claims.”

Senior Issues

Another situation that arises, particularly with an aging population, is when a person is a danger to him or herself. A senior could forget to shut the water, waste away from not eating or wander aimlessly around the building.

“In these situations, we urge communities to adopt a policy resolution that is not so limiting to cause the association liability for failing to ‘take a step’ but does offer a rather consistent set of guidelines that are helpful in these emergencies,” Loheac says. “For example, keeping on file a list of relatives to contact regarding an elderly parent or aunt or uncle is usually most effective.”

Where someone is acting erratic to the level of possibly endangering him or herself, and there are no relatives, another option is to call social services. One of these local or municipal agencies is usually equipped to evaluate the seriousness of the situation.

Education Matters

The New Jersey chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI-NJ), the Pennsylvania and Delaware chapter of CAI, the Institute of Real Estate Management, of which there are two New Jersey chapters, and the New Jersey Apartment Association (NJAA), are among the resource organizations available to help management and boards come up with ways to talk with disruptive residents and help them through the process. You can also check the online archives of The New Jersey Cooperator at www.njcooperator.com for assistance with this subject matter.

When it comes to education, Loheac says the best course of action for any community is for board members and management to participate in education regularly in order to be fully aware and equipped to deal with some of these disruptive or even dangerous behaviors before there is a problem.

“It’s always far more difficult to react to a problem that may be time-sensitive in the moment,” she says. “This education can come through groups like CAI and even through regular collaboration with local arms of social agencies. Get to know the people in the municipality and in the county. Periodically attend some of their educational seminars or get on an email distribution for materials relating to programs.”

Remember, community living is not about rigid rules in every aspect of living—it’s about creating an interdependent environment where people can live together well, respecting a desirable standard of living for all people in the community.    

Keith Loria is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to The New Jersey Cooperator