Get your Neighbors to Vote it out!
Read any pundit’s blog
about homeowner associations and you will see a recurring theme: boards of
directors over-zealously enforce the rules. True or not, I’m calling the
pundits’ bluff: If you don’t like rules enforcement by your homeowner’s
association then round up your neighbors and vote it out. I don’t mean dissolve
the association entirely, just limit its authority to enforce certain rules and
leave that enforcement to the individual owners who care the most. This has two
benefits: it leaves certain disputes between individual owners to be resolved
just by those owners; and it relieves the board of directors and the
association from having to act as a cop.
A community association is
an entity created to manage and maintain the property and represents the owners
to enforce the restrictions recorded against each lot or unit. This includes
architectural and behavioral rules. These are rules about how the individual
lots or units can be used—such things as modifying or changing the look of your
individual house or lot; what can be parked in your driveway; and behavioral
rules that involve such things as noise between adjoining units.
Rules are always
enforceable by individual owners, but they don’t
necessarily have to be enforced by the association, although they often are. In most projects the
community association has been delegated that authority by the governing
documents and this delegation of responsibility can be scaled back by an appropriate
vote of the owners. If you don’t like your homeowners association telling you
what you can park in your driveway, what kind of floors you can put in your
home, or what flags you can fly on your lawn—take away its authority to do
that. As I have said in response to several pundits’ tirades against aggressive
enforcement—quit complaining. Encourage your neighbors to vote to limit your
association’s enforcement authority and leave enforcement of deed restrictions
to any individual owner who is motivated enough to do it. Why should owners who
don’t care about such things be forced to subsidize those who do?
For example, noise between condominium or townhouse units impacts only the
owners of those units in most cases. Rules against using hardwood as a floor
covering are found in many condominium projects. But should the association be
charged with the duty to enforce that restriction when no one can see it and
only the downstairs owner is impacted by a violation? If there were as much
concern over rules enforcement as the pundits say, then they should have no
problem getting enough signatures on a petition to put such a proposal on the
ballot.
But there will be serious challenges. One is a lack of interest by the owners.
More likely than a general outpouring of indignation over the activities of a
community association will be mind-numbing apathy. Frankly, most people don’t care
one way or the other.
The second challenge is
convincing those owners who do care. Many owners like the fact
that someone is watching out for the condition of the property and maintaining
a certain level of governance over its use. These people are not likely to
agree with the underlying premise that there should be limitations on rules
enforcement by the association. But perhaps they would approve of just limited
enforcement by the association—limited to those public issues that impact most
of the members.
The third and greatest
challenge will be the voting requirements to make changes to the governing
documents. A majority of property owners cannot amend most
documents. That requires a super majority of perhaps two thirds or three
fourths of the owners.
But if feelings are strong
enough, and if the motivation is high enough, the documents can be amended to
withdraw the association’s authority to enforce certain deed restrictions that
impact only a few individuals. This would leave enforcement to those individual
owners who desire to do it. There is nothing sacrosanct about a community
association being the rules cop. Many projects have deed restrictions but no
active owner’s association. My own does, and my neighbors and I just succeeded
in getting a tenant to remove a big house trailer from the driveway. No
association, just neighbors enforcing the rules.
If a group of owners
decided to pursue this course it would test both the apathy and the interests
of the owners at large. Can it be done? Legally, yes. Will it? You tell me—I’m
calling your bluff!
Community association regulate providers specialize in handling small to large community groups. This would involve communities that have home owner's or residence owner's association.
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