Condo Owner Wants to Defend Neighbor

F.D. from Fairfield County writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

Mr. Condo, how can I write a positive letter about one of my neighbors to defend him about a false accusation made by another neighbor?

Mister Condo replies:

F.D., you are a good neighbor to defend your fellow resident and share what you know about the accusation with the parties concerned. I assume you are looking to defend your neighbor to the condo association Board who has been alerted to a rule infraction or such by another unit owner. Typically, reports of rules violations are made to either the Property Manager (if you have one) or directly to the Board. Neighbor versus neighbor issues are the most common reports and the Board is tasked with reviewing the complaints and taking action if deemed necessary. You are free to write to the Board or Property Manager and tell your side of the story so that they may take your account of events into consideration when deciding what action to take against the unit owner who been accused of the rule violation. The actions that Boards should take include notification of your neighbor that a rule violation has been reported and an invitation to address the Board concerning the infraction. If your neighbor takes no action, the Board may issue a fine for the violation. If your neighbor wishes to address the Board and defend himself, your letter may be quite useful in bolstering his defense. Either way, the Board can choose to do nothing or they may issue a fine for the offense as outlined in your association’s by-laws. The Board is tasked with governing the association, which includes managing the budget and dealing with the larger issues of the community as a whole. Neighbor versus neighbor rules violations are quite often a nuisance that the Board must deal with but it takes them off task of truly managing the assets of the association. If you decide to send your letter, please keep it short and sweet. Ideally, the Board will simply review the complaint, your letter and decide to take no further action. All the best!