Looking ahead to opening our pool for the summer -- and hoping to avoid the perennial complaints about children who misbehave (and often pee) in it -- our board is considering rules that would establish adult-only swim times, create a ‘lap’ lane’ open only to adults  and bar children who are not yet potty-trained.  Will these rules accomplish our goal?

Say what? That is how many condominium trustees and owners have reacted to the notice informing them of their obligation as building owners to report the energy usage in their buildings by June 30. For many recipients, there were two surprises in this notice: That this reporting requirement exists and that trustees or apparently random condominium owners are considered to be “owners” of their buildings. We will explain both.

First, the reporting requirement stems from a state law (“An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind, Large Building Energy Reporting”) enacted in 2022, requiring all buildings larger than 20,000 sq ft. to report their consumption of energy of all kinds. That law takes effect this year.

The Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has issued regulations clarifying the reporting requirements. Those regulations define building owners as “the person, persons, entity, or entities listed in the Covered Buildings List” that DOER has compiled from public records. For condominiums, the department has often identified trustees or individual unit owners as the “owners” who are responsible for ensuring that the required information is reported and subject to penalties if it is not. Don’t panic. DOER has established procedures for correcting its list.

When Boston and Cambridge enacted “right-to-charge” ordinances in 2019 and 2022, respectively, codifying the rights of electric vehicle owners to install charging stations in multi-family buildings, industry executives predicted that Massachusetts lawmakers would eventually follow suit. They were right.

In our overly litigious society, it is said that anyone can sue anyone for anything. The volunteers serving on condominium association boards sometimes feel as if they can be sued by almost everyone for almost everything – an overstatement, perhaps, but an understandable one. It is certainly true that condo owners are not always happy with the decisions boards make and it is also true that some owners express their dissatisfaction with board members by suing them.

A tenant renting a unit in our community plays loud music late at night, about which neighbors complain constantly. We’ve informed the tenant that he is creating a nuisance, to no avail. The unit’s owner says he will deal with the issue but hasn’t done so and is no longer responding to our e-mails and calls. What can be done?

The United States Treasury Department announced Sunday that new rules will be issued shortly that will require only foreign companies to file under the CTA. Further, no enforcement action and/or fines will be taken against any U.S. Citizen or any domestic reporting companies. New rules will be announced in the coming days or weeks.

In addition to its Condominium Practice, our firm has an entire department dedicated to the representation of both commercial and residential landlords. Specifically, MEEB’s Landlord-Tenant attorneys specialize in advising Landlords, as well as Property Managers, on all aspects of a tenant’s tenancy, which includes but is not limited to: drafting Lease Agreements/Occupancy Agreements, enforcement of lease terms, processing security deposits and last month’s rent, terminating tenancies, drafting Notices to Quit (nonpayment of rent, nonrenewal of tenancies, termination of tenancies at will, and for-cause lease violations), securing emergency rental assistance, compliance with Federal Housing Regulations (including Section 8), and cooperative housing evictions. In particular, from mediations to Summary Process trials, MEEB’s Landlord-Tenant attorneys litigate eviction actions in all Massachusetts Housing Courts.

At the end of the 2023/2024 legislative session, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed a comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation, An Act promoting a clean energy grid, advancing equity and protecting ratepayers. Included in the bill were two significant changes to the Massachusetts Condominium Act.

“Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me.” We’ve all heard that adage and condominium board members may have more reason than most to repeat it. Boards can’t please everyone all the time and there are times when they can’t seem to please anyone ever. There’s nothing new about that. Criticism is part of the board member’s job. But in the condominium world, the criticism has become increasingly harsh, offensive, nasty and sometimes even threatening – words hurled with the force of sticks and stones.

At the close of the last Legislation Session, the Rhode Island Condominium Act § 34-36.1-3.06 was amended, effective upon passage, to require any current applicable By-Laws and Rules and Regulations to be recorded with the Land Evidence Records Department in the City or Town where the Condominium is located.