Co-Author, What Did I Do Wrong? for Washington Metropolitan Chapter Community Associations Institute, November 2025
Moderator and Co-presenter, Common Interest Community Law in Virginia, for Virginia CLE, on May 20, 2025
Co-presenter, You Said What? Handling, In the Moment, Interruptions, Disruptions, and Other Heated Discussions at Community Association Meetings, for the Community Associations Institute Washington Metro Chapter (WMC-CAI), on March 7, 2025
Presenter, Your Architectural Guideline Refresh: Reasons to Make the Review of Your Association’s Architectural Guidelines Part of Your Association’s Annual Maintenance, for the Community Associations Institute Central Virginia Chapter (CVC-CAI), on February 27, 2025
Co-presenter, The Corporate Transparency Act: What You Need to Know, for WMC-CAI, on October 25, 2024
Co-presenter, Virginia Common Interest Community Law & Regulation Updates, for CVC-CAI, on September 19, 2024
Co-author, Design Control in Common Interest Communities - Model Restrictions, in The Fee Simple – The Journal of the Virginia State Bar Real Property Section (The Fee Simple), Spring 2024
Co-presenter, CMCA Study Group, for CVC-CAI, on May 21, 2024, and May 10, 2023
Co-presenter, Board Leader Certificate Course, for CVC-CAI, on April 18, 2024, and for WMC-CAI, on October 14, 2023
Co-author, Suggestions for Orienting a Board, in WMC-CAI’s Quorum Magazine, February 2024
Co-presenter, Insurance Chaos, Just Another Hard Market or the New Norm?, a virtual webinar for CVC-CAI, on October 26, 2023
Author, Yet Another Reason to Read Your Association’s Covenants Before Inspecting Lots, in CVC-CAI’s Consensus News Journal, Summer 2023
Co-presenter, Efficiently Conducting the Business of an Association Electronically at the CVC-CAI’s CA Day Tradeshow and Expo, on April 14, 2023
Co-presenter, Playing Your Cards Right – Staying Out of Hot Water at the Community Associations Institute Southeastern Virginia Chapter’s (SEVA-CAI) Trade Show and Educational Expo, on March 18, 2023
Author, Post-Pandemic Management: Conducting Business a Different Way, in CVC-CAI’s Consensus News Journal, January 2023
Author, Associations’ Use of Electronic Voting to Conduct their Members’ Business in the DMV, in WMC-CAI’s Quorum Magazine, August 2022
Author, Ombudsman’s Determination of Common Interest Community Law Made during the Pandemic, in The Fee Simple, June 22, 2022
Co-presenter, Association Feud! Surveys of the Ombudsman’s Determinations of Final Adverse Decisions made by Boards of Directors at SEVA-CAI’s Trade Show and Educational Expo on March 12, 2022, and at the Virginia Leadership Retreat (VLR) on August 7, 2021
Co-presenter, Legal Jeopardy, What to Avoid when Covenants and Law Conflict at VLR on July 27, 2019
Co-presenter, Legislative Update – 2019 on June 4, 2019
Co-presenter, Booze, Movie Night, Roads & Bingo! at VLR on July 28, 2018
Presenter, Storm Water Management, Whose Responsibility Is It? on October 19, 2016
ARTICLES
August 17, 2026
In 2024, common interest communities lived under the almost daily shift in reporting requirements by board members under the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”). FinCen, a branch of the Department of the Treasury, administered the CTA, of which not a few directors, and volunteers no less, were wary. Lawsuits ensued and the constitutionality of the CTA was never quite agreed upon by the federal courts across the country. The resulting jumble of court opinions that enjoined and unenjoined, if that’s even a word, the enforcement of the CTA certainly caused a legal whiplash unparalleled in recent memory.
January 22, 2026
Amid the uncertainties of today’s economy, interested buyers and current unit owners may be skittish about the fluctuating sale prices of condominium units. A January 1 Wall Street Journal article paints a gloomy picture: declining demand due to altered preferences and rising condo fees. Preferences have changed, says the article, as working from home lessens the draw of city living, while assessments grow on account of the insurance market and increased maintenance costs. But the article points to a silver lining for condo owners everywhere.
November 7, 2025
On October 28, 2025, the Prince William County (“PWC”) Board of County Supervisors amended Chapter 13, Section 13-497 of the PWC County Code. The amendments add provisions in favor of drivers at risk of being towed. This alert summarizes those amendments. Please contact your Association’s legal counsel if you have any questions about complying with these new amendments.
June 1, 2023
Two recent decisions from the Court of Appeals of Virginia underscore the need to closely review an association’s governing documents for recorded covenants, either monetary or nonmonetary, that association boards wish to enforce. In particular, the Court of Appeals has now addressed boards spending associations’ assessments on services unrelated to common areas (or presumptively common elements), and assigning parking spaces to unit owners using revocable licenses.
December 3, 2021
The approval of expensive work on the common area of a Virginia Property Owners’ Association (“POA”) can be a daunting decision for a Board to make, especially when an Association’s reserves must be used to pay for that work. There is always an element of trust by a Board that the work will be done well by its chosen contractor. But, when that work is not done well by a contractor licensed in Virginia, and far worse, that contractor is also insolvent or simply “gone,” the chances are bleak that a POA will actually recover its money from that contractor. Fortunately, there is a fund administered by the Board of Contractors for Virginia’s Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation for a POA to make a claim. While making a claim may be document intensive, a properly prepared claim may be a POA’s last and best hope for recovery. This article details the use of the Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Act, Virginia Code Ann. § 55.1-1118, et seq., by POAs.
June 4, 2021
An SMP, or “Stormwater Management Plan,” is the broad term for an association’s documented plan for complying with local ordinances regarding stormwater management. A BMP, or “Best Management Practice,” is a type of SMP that includes those activities, prohibited practices, and maintenance that an association has adopted to prevent or at least reduce the pollution of surface waters on its property.
January 7, 2021
The pandemic has foisted upon us a reality in which a virtual meeting is a necessary expediency to conduct the business of community associations. The Governor’s Executive Orders have waived the statutory requirement that board meetings have at least two of an association’s directors physically present at the place of the meeting. When the pandemic mercifully subsides and consequently the Governor’s Executive Orders expire, his waiver of the physical presence requirement is due to expire too. However, several useful parts of a virtual meeting, as we now know them, will remain.
February 6, 2020
Almost invariably, a limitation on use of units or lots for “residential purposes only” is one of the first covenants found in governing documents. But, where should one look to in determining what qualifies as permissible “residential purposes” when your association’s restrictive covenants say nothing more? Virginia courts do not favor restrictions on the use of real property and construe restrictive covenants strictly, resolving substantial doubt or ambiguity in favor of the free use of property and against restrictions.
February 6, 2020
Community associations, as a general rule, have greater success in collecting delinquent assessments if they act promptly to collect such amounts from the delinquent owner. Federal law, however, makes this more difficult and time consuming when the delinquent owner is a military service member. The same law can delay any lawsuit involving a service member, including those brought for covenant enforcement. Associations are not without enforcement options when dealing with service member owners, but should prepare themselves for legal proceedings to take longer and involve greater cost. To avoid or reduce these difficulties, associations should consider using their internal procedures to resolve delinquencies and covenant disputes with service members before proceeding with a lawsuit.
May 31, 2018
Foreclosure is a matter of last resort. Whether an owner is unable to or neglectful in paying assessments owed to an association, the last remedy that should be considered to get paid is foreclosure. A foreclosure takes time, it is costly, and it is designed to displace an association member who cannot or will not fulfill his or her obligation to pay assessments like the other members do. On the other hand, a foreclosure against a property that has sufficient equity in it (meaning the value of the property exceeds the amount of debt owed on it) can be a complete remedy that recovers unpaid assessments, the cost of foreclosure, and eliminates the ongoing hassle for an association by replacing a nonpaying owner with (hopefully) a paying one.
June 22, 2017
Every city or county in Virginia has published ordinances that restrict their residents’ home construction and lot use in a subdivision. Authorized by Virginia Code
[1], a city or county may adopt the ordinances it needs to perform its obligations. To assure the orderly subdivision of land in the city or county, achieve the goals of a comprehensive development plan, or implement the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, subdivisions have been the subject of countless ordinances. Not surprisingly, so many ordinances cover a wide range of topics, and each is accompanied by a remedy for the local government to ensure compliance, often via an agency that will receive and investigate complaints.
April 4, 2017
With spring upon us, community gatherings are popular events for associations to introduce neighbors to each other, conduct annual meetings, or pass that amendment to governing documents that requires the presence of members who may be otherwise difficult to assemble. As a neighbor and homeowner myself, the answer on whether to serve alcohol at a social gathering is a resounding: “Yes, please.” As a lawyer, however, it is much easier to object: “Perhaps not.” On one hand, there is no doubt that the safest course for an association is simply to resist the service of alcohol. No alcohol, no liability. On the other hand, the appeal of serving a cold beer or a glass of wine can be a well-deserved complement when there is a desire to bring neighbors together or build community spirit. The option to serve alcohol, coupled with a willingness to do so, does not need to be dismissed entirely however, and can be navigated to mitigate the risk of liability for those associations that find the consumption of alcohol, in moderation, a desirable complement to their gatherings.
NEWSLETTERS
December 7, 2021
What To Do When Your Association Is Sued
How a Property Owners' Association Might Recover a Debt Against a Virginia Contractor
Legal Jeopardy - Test Your Knowledge!
February 6, 2020
Editor's Note
Meet the Piedmont & Tidewater Committee
Is That a "Residential Purpose"? Using Virginia Statutes and Municipal Ordinances to Clarify Restrictive Covenants on Non-Residential Uses
Protections Afforded to Your Neighbors in the Military: The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act for Community Associations
PRESENTATIONS
October 10, 2024
In this brief presentation, Chad Rinard delves into the applicability and requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) as it pertains to Community Associations. The reporting deadline for the CTA is set for December 31, 2024. This presentation outlines the necessary information and documents that must be compiled and reported before this deadline, as well as the updates required thereafter. Additionally, the webinar provides practical tips to ensure that once the reporting process is initiated, it can be completed within 60 to 90 minutes.
February 10, 2023
May 20, 2022
The Whiteford Piedmont & Tidewater Committee provides tips on running successful member and board meetings taking it step-by-step and breaking down the component parts.
