Condo Media - April 2021 - 12

Asked & Answered

Dog-Walking Woes
Trespassing in a Private Courtyard

I live in a condo complex with a nice, park-like setting.
Unfortunately, that attracts non-residents who are walking their dogs.
With the pandemic, we are seeing more activity and what's worse,
many people are not picking up their dog's poop. The front entrance
has " Private Property, No Soliciting " signage, but it does not deter the
dog walkers. I have spoken with people coming onto the property to
walk their dogs, and I even had to call the police on one person after
telling them three times that our complex is private property without
any result. What issues result from allowing the " public " to use our
land and how can we stop this from happening in the future?

This is a great question. There are certainly liability
issues for condominium communities associated with
allowing the public to continue to access common area
grounds without permission. This is especially true
while the COVID-19 pandemic is still very much with
us, as unit owners could fault the condominium board
for allowing this unauthorized public access, especially
if this is connected with the spread of the virus. In
addition, there are liability issues when unauthorized
people bring dogs on common area grounds, as those
dogs can cause problems for others, including - but
not limited to - biting someone. Finally, if the public
is not adequately told to not enter the common area
grounds, and if a member of the public somehow gets
injured on the common area grounds, then that could
expose the condominium board and owners to potential liability. Yes, this is the world we live in these days.
ADDRESSING LIABILITY CONCERNS
But there are things that can be done to mitigate
against all of these outcomes. Here are a few suggestions for your condominium board to consider:

1

Install better, more visible, and unambiguous signage throughout the common area grounds that this
is private property and that unauthorized access by anyone will be considered a trespass and will be prosecuted.

2

Consider the installation of fencing and surveillance cameras, although this would likely be
considered an " improvement " under the governing

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CONDOMEDIA April 2021

condominium documents, which would require some
level of unit owner pre-approval before this expenditure can be made by a condominium board.

3

Hire part-time security to deter unauthorized visitors from the common area grounds. Security personnel can be used regularly to start and then less and
less once people are no longer habitually trespassing.

4

Hire an outside vendor to inspect and do
DNA analysis on dog waste left on the common
area grounds (yes, there are vendors who do this!)
to try to identify and keep a record of uninvited dogs.
This will also assist the condominium board with
identifying owners/occupants who fail to clean up
after their pets.
There is no foolproof way to fully eliminate unauthorized access to the common area grounds, but the
above mitigation efforts can certainly help. Of course,
any and all actions taken must be done in conformance with the condominium's governing documents
and state law. The condominium board should review
their plan of action with an attorney to ensure
that compliance.
■ THIS ANSWER WAS PROVIDED
BY DAVID C. UITTI, ESQ. AND
ERIK SHAUGHNESSY, ESQ. PARTNERS
IN THE LAW FIRM MIRRIONE,
SHAUGHNESSY & UITTI, LLC
Condo Media - April 2021

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