Now that all of the holiday décor is unpacked, it may be time to remind your Coop and Condo dwellers to take a step back and make sure that their decorations are compliant with the holiday décor restrictions your coop or condo may have. There may be restrictions regarding what kind of decorations they’re allowed to display and where they can place them. Some of these rules are designed to keep common areas like hallways neat, but others may address safety concerns such as electrical items (i.e. lights) that can potentially cause fires.
Be sure they’re aware of the policies in force for the building. As a Coop/Condo board, when enforcing the holiday-decoration regulations it may feel as though everyone thinks of you as the Grinch. This is why it is important to communicate the rules in a friendly and understanding way while giving the residents explanations to certain restrictions that may seem unfair.
Here are a few things to remember when enforcing the rules:
- Be Reasonable and Consistent – Do not prohibit residents from decorating the exteriors of their homes for the holidays (unless your Governing Documents require it). The rules should be constant and communicated to all residents so everyone is on the same page as to what they can and cannot display. If for any reason your Coop or Condo does ban holiday decor, it is important to be consistent and ban all decorations and displays.
- Set Rational Restrictions – Regulating the time that decorations may be displayed and when they should be removed as well as the time of day that the lights may be laminated is perfectly reasonable. These restrictions will help avoid annoyances to neighbors and may potentially avoid safety issues.
- Be Careful of Decorations in Common Areas – Coops or Condo’s that choose to decorate common areas, such as entrance ways or lobbies, should take extra care to give equal treatment to all religious affiliations or keep such decorations general by only hanging lights and wreaths.
Overall, it is important to make your holiday decorating rules reasonable and even-handed. It is important to keep an open mind and encourage the residents to add an item on the agenda for the next board meeting and have it discussed. Allowing the residents to give their opinions may lead you to take a second look at certain restrictions or maybe ease up on them a little bit.
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