COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS INSTITUTE (CAI) INTRODUCES NEW CIVILITY PLEDGE FOR HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS AND CONDOMINIUM COMMUNITI

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS INSTITUTE (CAI) INTRODUCES NEW CIVILITY PLEDGE FOR HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS AND CONDOMINIUM COMMUNITIES

Falls Church, VA – RealEstateRama – To foster a climate of mutual respect and help community residents to explore areas of common ground despite their differences, CAI is encouraging all community associations to adopt a newly developed Civility Pledge to support the people who live and work in the millions of homeowners associations, condominiums, and housing cooperatives worldwide.

The Civility Pledge will serve as a model for community associations to foster a climate of open discussion, mutual respect, and tolerance between residents, guests, board and committee members, community association managers, staff members, business partners, and contractors.

“Community associations increasingly are being called on to play a significant role in the way we live, learn, work, and play,” says Thomas M. Skiba, CAE, CAI’s chief executive officer. “We believe these communities as a whole—with their unique mix of cultural identities, socioeconomic backgrounds, religious beliefs, and more—represent the increasing diversity of today’s world. We believe community associations should strive to find common ground and build a lasting framework of civility in their communities especially when discussing important community issues.”

Understanding the influence of today’s community association leaders, community managers, and business partners, CAI’s College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL) developed the Civility Pledge to encourage interactions in a community association to be respectful and meaningful despite differences of opinion on a particular issue, and to create an environment where residents have the opportunity to express their views openly, without unreasonable fear of judgment or reprimand.

“As attorneys representing community associations across the country, we are unified in recognizing the growing challenges facing a community resident’s ability to discuss, engage, exchange, debate, and disagree about community association issues civilly. The absence of civil discourse is impacting the ability of our community association clients to effectively govern,” says attorney Matt D. Ober, 2019 president of CCAL’s Board of Governors and a partner of Richardson | Ober law firm in California. “We believe that civility is more than just about being polite. It’s about creating a place where all residents feel safe and are urged to ask questions and share opinions, a vital part of a thriving community. We are confident that CAI’s new Civility Pledge will be an essential resource for all community associations that adopt it.”

Download and adopt the Civility Pledge.

About Community Associations Institute 
Since 1973, Community Associations Institute (CAI) has been the leading provider of resources and information for homeowners, volunteer board leaders, professional managers, and business professionals in the nearly 350,000 homeowners associations, condominiums, and co-ops in the United States and millions of communities worldwide. With more than 43,000 members, CAI works in partnership with 36 legislative action committees and 64 affiliated chapters within the U.S., Canada, United Arab Emirates, and South Africa, as well as with housing leaders in several other countries, including Australia, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. A global nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization, CAI is the foremost authority in community association management, governance, education, and advocacy. Our mission is to inspire professionalism, effective leadership, and responsible citizenship—ideals reflected in community associations that are preferred places to call home. Visit us at www.caionline.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook @caisocial.

About College of Community Association Lawyers

Established in 1993 by the Community Associations Institute (CAI), the College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL) provides a forum for experienced legal professionals working in the community association field to exchange information. Its goals include promoting high standards of professional and ethical responsibility, improving and advancing community association law and practice, and facilitating the development of educational materials and programming pertaining to legal issues. Members are lawyers who have demonstrated skill, experience, and high standards of professional and ethical conduct and are dedicated to excellence in the specialized practice of community association law. They are involved in state and federal legislative activities and prepare amicus curiae (friend-of-the-court) briefs on critical judicial cases that affect common-interest communities. CCAL provides advanced professional educational programs to its fellows and provides solutions to community association legal challenges. It is a collegial forum for the exchange and development of ideas by some of the most knowledgeable attorneys in the field.

For members and general inquiries, contact the CAI Member Service Center:
Phone: 703-970-9220
Fax: 703-970-9558
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MEDIA CONTACT: Amy Repke
Phone: 703-970-9239
Fax: 703-970-9558
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