A ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court in a case involving a condo association in Fairfax county may have huge consequences for thousands of condo associations around the state, according to a report in the Washington Post.
The Court’s ruling establishes that condo associations can’t make up rules and impose fees if they are not in the development’s original master deed.
Though it was an unpublished opinion, “it’s a game-changer” for perhaps 10,000 condo and homeowner associations across Virginia, according to Pia Trigiani, an Alexandria lawyer with extensive expertise in community association law, and recent president of the Virginia Bar Association.
“Every association needs to evaluate what their governing documents grant them the authority to do,” Trigiani said. “And to the extent that association has in place a rigorous rule enforcement program, they’re going to need to think of how this case impacts them….It is a lawyer feast day. They are making it impossible for these volunteer associations to operate without a lawyer.”
