New Jersey case:
Upholds Association Restriction Against Occupancy by Sex Offenders

by: Jeffrey A. Goldberg for condolawyers.com
 

A recent New Jersey case has ignited a controversy over the right of a community association to prohibit occupancy of units by convicted sex offenders.

The Panther Valley Property Owners Association adopted a bylaw that prohibited home owners from selling or renting their property to Megan's Law registrants.  Megan's Law was named after Megan Kanka, a 7 year old girl who was raped and killed by a convicted sex offender living nearby to her home.  The law requires convicted sex offenders to register with the local law enforcement agency and provides for notification to the public when an offender moves into a community.  More than 300,000 persons have been registered nationwide under the various Megan's Laws.

For information on Megan's Law in your State, follow this link.

Ruling on a home owner's challenge that the restriction was an unreasonable restriction on her right to sell the property, the Court decided that the Association's interest in preserving the value of the homes and the safety of the community outweighs the small impact the regulation has on a homeowner's ability to sell his property (stay tuned- this case will be appealed).

We expect associations across the country to now attempt adoption of similar bylaw restrictions.  However, the court's decision raises a number of questions and issues that must be addressed before adopting such rules.

Among the issues in this controversy are:

1.  Shouldn't the owners be entitled to rent or sell their property to any person they choose?  Is it fair to restrict them in order to make the community feel more secure?
2.  How does an owner find out whether someone is a restricted sex offender?  In many States, persons notified under the law are not permitted to disclose it to others.  Even if the information is available, what happens if the owner mistakenly sells or rents to a sex offender due to an imperfect investigation?
3. Will the Association be liable to someone if a sex offender moves in, the board fails to take action to remove the offender, and the offender causes harm to a resident?
4. There apparently are degrees of severity of the offenses.  Who is to decide which registrant may live in the Association and which one must be excluded?
5.  What happens if a person becomes a registrant after he already owns the property?  Does the registrant have to sell his home?  What about his family?

 
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