Mass. towns fend off family housing – Massachusetts families with young children may find it harder to find housing as towns push developers for more 55-plus communities and apartment complexes with only one and two bedrooms, Scott Van Voorhis writes. A lack of family housing is a way for towns to reduce budget strains by avoiding the need for more schools, Van Voorhis writes. Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Mass.)

Lawyers: Quake-susceptible communities should have master insurance policy  – An HOA board in California wants to ditch a community earthquake insurance plan and have each resident purchase their own policy, but such an approach wouldn’t cover the community in a time of disaster, lawyers Donie Vanitzian and Zachary Levine write. Associations are best protected with a master earthquake insurance policy, but residents should also carry individual earthquake policies because having double coverage will help communities rebuild if a natural disaster strikes, Vanitzian and Levine write. Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model)

Homeowners protest rent increase – Carrying signs and armed with determination, residents of the Westwood Village active senior home community staged a rally Saturday, protesting rent increases they say threaten their economic security. Richard Robinson, the community’s homeowners association chairman, said monthly rent has increased nearly $200 in the last decade, since Equity Lifestyle Properties purchased the community. According to a Westwood Village news release, the monthly rate will be raised $21 to $432 next year, up from $382 in 2010 and $249 in 2002. (Standard Examiner)

State, county laws are ‘taxing’ on HOAs – Columnist Barbara Holland takes a break from her HOA Q&A format to talk about recent county taxes local homeowners associations are facing. In a Nevada legislative session that produced some “taxing” new laws for associations, here comes some more taxing laws that could affect your association’s bottom line. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Understanding voting rights in a cooperative – Q&A with Condo Advisor, Howard Dakoff. Issues incude: voting rights, cooperative rules, bylaws, common space usage. (Chicago Tribune)