I am not particularly a fan of alcohol, I may have a beer about twice a year.... I see that if you SERVE alcohol at a property sponsored function and someone partakes too much, there may be a liability if that person gets hurt or causes some damage. It is better safe than sorry....

Someone mentioned cooking classes; and as someone who watches the Food Network, I realize that some recipes actually call for alcohol in some form (usually wine); but when cooked; the alcohol actually cooks away. Given that, I think it would be okay to include alcohol in a cooking class, but not a party.

I manage a primarily student property and there is no way on the planet I would host a gathering where alcohol is served by me or my company. Nor would I allow residents to bring it in. Not only is there liability but if they decided to really start drinking and got out of control I would not want to be the one to have to manage such things. All events in my opinion should be non-alcoholic ones. Even on a non-student property. Better safe than sorry.

If you host food at an event but allow the residents to BYOB, do you take on the same liability?

Definitely not. A resident in an accident after attending an event where alcohol was served by the management agent will seek redress from the property, management company and owner.
Not only is there the risk of loss in a lawsuit but also the ramifications on future liability insurance premiums.

I think I'm with Jonathan on this one. While there may not be a problem with serving beer or wine at a community event, better safe than sorry.

While having alcohol may seem like a nice touch, especially in the case of a superbowl party or a cooking class, the inherent liability that comes with the of serving alcohol at a community sponsored event make the practice undesirable in my opinion.

The residents who attend these events are not participating because they are looking for a free glass of wine, or a can of beer. They are participating because they want to learn something new, meet their neighbors or to get free food. But alcohol is not, and should not be the reason, and therefore I feel it's unnecessary.

Alcohol, or the lack thereof, will not make or break the event. It's not the 99 times that alcohol is served and nothing happens that we're concerned about. It's the 1 time, and that's 1 time too much.