Virginia Community Association Law Blog : Virginia Condo & HOA Lawyers & Attorneys for Property Management Issues in Williamsburg & Virginia Beach VA

The General Assembly recently adopted amendments to the Property Owners’ Association Act and the Condominium Act that address associations' ability to regulate the display of the United States flag.  The amended Virginia Code sections follow the language of the U.S. Code (The Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005), which is the federal law regarding the U.S. flag in Title 4, Chapter 1.  POA and condominium boards and managers, and declarants and their attorneys who are preparing covenants and rules for POAs and condominiums, need to be aware of the new law.  The amendments to Va. Code Sec. 55-79.75:2 of the Condominium Act and Va. Code Sec. 55-513.1 of the POA Act are essentially the same, so I will discuss them together.

The new law provides that no association (POA or Condominium) shall prohibit an owner from displaying the U.S. flag on his own property (lot or unit) as long as the display conforms to federal law, rule or custom.  You can find the official rules governing flag display in Title 4, Chapter 1 at the U.S. House of Representatives' website ( http://uscode.house.gov/search/criteria.shtml).  (There are also several helpful non-governmental sites run by non-profit organizations that you can find by performing an internet search of "flag protocol.")  However, an association may continue to "establish reasonable restrictions as to the size, place, duration, and manner of placement or display of the flag on such property provided such restrictions are necessary to protect a substantial interest of the (unit owners') association."

In addition, be aware that, in any legal action brought by an association for violation of a community flag restriction, the association bears the burden of proving in court that its restrictions as to size, place, duration, and manner of placement are necessary to protect a substantial interest of the association.  Therefore, these criteria should be carefully considered when drafted, and existing regulations should be evaluated to ensure they protect your association's substantial interests.  If not, you may want to consider amending or revoking them.

Associations may continue to restrict the display of flags in the common elements/areas of the community, but any limited common element (i.e. any area over which an owner has "exclusive possession or use"), such as, for example, typically a unit's balcony or porch, should be treated the same as the lot or unit with respect to flag display. 

Remember that POAs must disclose any community restrictions regarding flag display in the disclosure packet.  If an association fails to do so and then brings an action against a homeowner for flag display in violation of the association's rules and/or covenants, the homeowner can assert as a defense that the required disclosure was not contained within the disclosure packet.

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LeClairRyan's Liz White was recently featured in an article on Board Meetings that was featured by several national media outlets, including Forbes magazine, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Baltimore Business Journal, the Business Journal of Phoenix, and the Cincinnati Business Courier. Locally, the article was featured by NBC12. To view the article, in which Liz discusses tips for an effective board meeting (and in which she shares some humorous tidbits about board meetings gone awry), click here.

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Do you think your fellow board members could use some training in the basics of community association law? Could the associations you manage benefit from several 1-hour teaching sessions? If so, then check out the LeClairRyan Community Association Team webinar library on the blog. With an ever-expanding array of webinars on topics ranging from board meeting minutes, to disclosure packets, to the Fair Housing Act, the webinar library can be accessed at any time and the webinars viewed at your convenience.

Also, stay tuned to the blog in the next few weeks for several announcements about new upcoming webinars.

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The second annual Virginia Leadership Retreat came to a successful conclusion on Sunday. The LeClairRyan Community Association team departed from the Homestead around noon, along with the other conference attendees. The team would like to thank all of the participants who stopped by the exhibit table, entered the prize drawing, or attended Liz's presentation.

We've now concluded our live blogging from the Retreat. Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back with the blog regularly for a wide variety of posts on cutting-edge topics related to community associations, as well as announcements about upcoming speaking events, webinars, and other free resources.

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Day 2 of the Virginia Leadership Retreat featured a variety of presentations on topics related to Community Associations. Liz White of LeClairRyan delivered a presentation entitled "Setting the Standard for Board Meetings," during which she discussed strategies for proper and efficient meetings of boards of directors. The following is a picture of Liz delivering her presentation.

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Day 2 of the Virginia Leadership Retreat at the Homestead. At lunchtime on Saturday, in the exhibit room, the vendors set up their displays. LeClairRyan's Community Association Team spoke to the conference attendees about the firm's Community Association practice, and handed out a wide variety of prizes ranging from golf balls, to umbrellas, to leather travel mugs. Below, Pam Faber and Dan Quarles staff the exhibit table.

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Members of our LeClairRyan Community Association Industry Team have arrived at the 2nd Annual Virginia Leadership Retreat being hosted by the Community Associations Institute at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia this weekend. Approximately 120 CAI members and their guests from around the state gathered this evening for the welcome reception. Pictured below are members of our Community Association Industry Team. From left to right: Lori Schweller, Pam Faber, Will Sleeth, Megan Scanlon, Dan Quarles, and Elizabeth White, our team leader.

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It's Friday afternoon, and the attendees are beginning to arrive to the Homestead for the annual Virginia Leadership Retreat conference. Under clear skies and cool weather, the participants get ready for the welcome reception. The following are some photos of the Homestead snapped by the LeClairRyan Communtiy Association Team.

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The LeClairRyan Community Association Team will be blogging throughout the weekend live from the Virginia Leadership Retreat at the Homestead. (For those of you unfamiliar with the Virginia Leadership Retreat, it's the annual Virginia weekend conference/event sponsored by CAI that is exclusively devoted to the Community Association industry).

For those of you unable to attend the event, feel free to check in frequently for updates. Even if you're attending the event, we encourage you to check in with the blog for the latest reporting from the LeClairRyan team.

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