Condominium and Cooperative Law in Washington
Cooperative and condominium communities are examples of a class of housing developments recognized as "common interest communities."
This is a type of community in which the individual residents rent or own residential units in a building, or collection of buildings, but are collectively responsible for taking maintaining the common areas in their communities, such as lawns, gardens, swimming pools, and the like. This responsibility is normally taken care of by charging the residents a periodic maintenance fee, to pay for the upkeep of the common areas.
Simply looking at the outside (or inside, for that matter) of a condo or cooperative community, you likely can't tell which it is.
This is because there are no physical characteristics that can clearly distinguish one from the other. The basic difference lies in the legal ownership arrangement. In a condominium community, the units are actually owned by the residents. The residents also collectively own the common areas, holding joint title to it. In a cooperative community, the buildings and land which make up the houses are owned by a single entity, and the individual units are often rented rather than owned by the residents.
Laws and Regulations Concerning Common Interest Communities in Federal Way, Washington
While there are a lot of Federal Way, Washington laws that will affect the residents and owners of condominium and cooperative communities, there are few that are actually specific to such communities. Rather, they are mostly governed by laws of more general application, such as contract law, zoning laws, and landlord/tenant law.
Your day-to-day life in a common interest community will probablyy be impacted more by the rules set by the owner or manager of the property, rather than any local or state laws.
The manager or owner of the land on which your residence is located will probably have a lot of rules concerning what can and cannot be done in and near the houses. These rules normally mandate cleanliness, keeping noise to a minimum, and regulate the presence of pets.
This power, however, has limits. There are some rules which landowners cannot impose. Most obviously, they can't bar people from renting or buying units based on their race, religion, or national origin in Federal Way, Washington. This conduct is illegal under state and federal law, and can result in severe civil penalties.
Can a Federal Way, Washington Attorney Help?
If you have a dispute with a neighbor, your landlord, or your homeowners' association, a brilliant Federal Way, Washington real estate attorney can be instrumental in obtaining a desired outcome.
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Accountant
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