Condo Media - June 2019 - 38

Industry PERSPECTIVE
NORMAN BATES
President, Liability
Consultants, Inc.
"Reasonable" is a
variable term, Bates
explains. Its meaning
for any community association depends
on the nature and extent of the security
risks that association faces. A condominium in a high-crime area, he notes,
will face greater risks and the board will
have greater security obligations than a
condominium in an area where crimes
are rare.
For any board contemplating its security obligations, information is the starting point. "Boards must be aware of what
is going on in the condominium itself and
in the surrounding community," Bates
emphasizes. "We encourage boards and
managers to reach out to local police" to
get that essential information. Police reports, he notes, will highlight problems in
nearby neighborhoods and may identify
issues in the condominium-car breakins or assaults-that owners haven't
reported to the board or the manager.
Boards can generally assume that the
association's security obligations are
limited to the common areas-perimeter
entrances, garages, parking areas, and exercise rooms, for example. The security
of individual units is typically the responsibility of owners, Bates notes. However,
some governing documents may expand
those obligations.
That was the case in a Connecticut
lawsuit Bates recounted, involving a
condominium resident who was raped
by a young man living with his parents
in a unit they owned. The assailant had
a history of violent behavior known
to the board. Because the documents
gave the board the authority to evict
tenants exhibiting troubling behavior,
a court ruled that the board had a duty
to act and was liable for failing to do so.
(A recent decision by a Massachusetts
Superior Court identifies another possible argument for expanding a board's
security obligations, which the sidebar
on page 39 explains.)
Most governing documents don't
create the expansive security obliga-

CONDOMEDIA June 2019

"Keep the technology up to date, and if
something is broken, fix it right away."
tions that ensnared this association.
To address the obligations associations
do have, Bates offers this general advice:
n FOCUS ON THE OBVIOUS.
Identify risks and potential risks and
address them. Make sure all entrances
are secured with good locks and make
sure the locks are working. Also make
sure all cameras, card access systems,
automatic gates and other security and
surveillance technology you have in
place is working. "Keep the technology
up to date," Bates emphasizes, "and if
something is broken, fix it right away."
n UNDERSTAND THE
BENEFITS OF TECHNOLOGY-
AND ITS LIMITATIONS.
Surveillance cameras don't prevent
crimes, Bates emphasizes; they record
them. But the "myth" that cameras
provide protection persists, he says,
and failure to have this equipment can
undermine an association's defense
against a liability claim. "Juries expect
to see video footage," he notes, and
plaintiffs' attorneys will argue that an
association without cameras lacked
reasonable security measures. "That's
an easy argument to make," Bates says,
"and it plays well with juries."

n EDUCATE OWNERS.
Make sure they understand their
obligations to protect themselves
and the community-for example,
by reporting crimes, broken locks or
other security problems. One of the
biggest security risks, he notes, comes
from owners who "politely" hold
doors open for strangers.
n USE COMMON SENSE.
Common sense was lacking, Bates
suggests, in a high-end community
that kept spare keys to owners'
units in a coded box. It wasn't
apparent which key matched which
unit, which was good, Bates says.
"But the list with the unit key codes
was kept in the same box."
n BE CAREFUL WHAT
YOU PUT IN WRITING.
"Put this in all capital letters," Bates
urges. Written communications-
acknowledging, for example, that
the board considered installing
lighting in the parking lot but
decided it was too expensive-
"will be fair game," he says, for
plaintiffs who sue the association
for failing to take reasonable
steps to protect them.

Condo Media - June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - June 2019