HOA STARTING OVER

I am a new Board Member of a very samll community of only 42 TH. We have a board of only three members, a budget that does not sustain our needs and uneccessary contracted services that are eating up the little working capital that exsist. With just the 3 board members, we have managed to identify the fluff and eliminate it through non-renewal of services, however we have a management company (fluff) which has IMO, been an obstacle to our redevelopment. With that said,my questions are; 1) Can you rewrite By-Laws,or ammend them, 2) can you add fees to noncompliance to community rules, 3) can the HOA institute only one trash pick company, 4) what about towing of illegally parked cars,and lastly,5)has any HOA actually changed By-Laws to state getting a less than 2/3 vote for decisions needed in the betterment of the community? We are actively researching our state's HOA laws, rules and regulations to get some sense of what we need to do.

HOA
Maryland

Shelia,

Congrats on being involved and working to make your Association better.
The answer to most of your questions will be contained within your governing documents and/or MD law.

Here is a link to Maryland Homeowners Association Inc.

They have links to various MD laws.

To address your specific questions:

1. Bylaws can be amended or completely rewritten providing you follow the procedures outlined within your bylaws to do this (rewriting would be the same as amending the entire document). Typically, the proposed amendment or document needs to be published to the membership, a meeting called, a quorum requirement met and a specific amount of yea votes received. Once amended, the amended bylaws will need to be filed with the State and published to the membership.

Be sure to read your States corporate laws as there may be specific requirements that are needed within the bylaws.

2. Assessing fees for violations will depend on what your documents and MD law specify the Associations recourse is for enforcement.

3. As for trash pickup. It will depend on your governing documents. IF trash/recycling collection is not part of the responsibilities of the Association, then I would suspect that the answer is no. However, you could amend the documents - with membership approval - making it a responsibility of the Association.

4. Towing of illegally parked cars will depend on the authority your governing documents provide and the requirements your County requires (specific signage, notices to owners, etc.). If your Association owns the streets/parking areas it can be done easier then if they are public.

5. If your governing documents say you need 2/3rds vote then you will need to receive a 2/3 vote amending them to a lower amount. You need to also check State law to see if HOA laws specify something else.

One way to get 2/3 vote is to use directed proxies. Sending these with a self addressed stamped envelope may get better results then just asking people to show up and vote.

Hope this helps.

Tim

What do you need to do that requires amendment of your Bylaws? Please quote the section where it says you need a 2/3 vote to make decisions. 2/3 of HOA Members or 2/3 of the Board? What kind of decisions?

If any of this is really necessary, then I think you must have strange Bylaws (or Declarations). Did you get some of this information from you management company?

Normally an HOA Board is given authority to set fees and penalties, select and execute contracts with vendors (such as your management company and trash collector), negotiate terms (such as trash pickup frequency), etc. Normally this is done by regular (majority) vote of the Board at duly held meetings. You may need to wait until your current contract with a vendor expires or pay a termination penalty with them -- that depends on what contract the HOA previously signed with them. Get the contracts quickly, as they may automatically renew at yearly (or other) intervals, or they may be month-to-month.

IMO, it's generally unwise to go overboard on enforcement, unless there are great eye-sores or one neighbor is creating a problem that many other neighbors consider a big problem (in addition to breaking the rules). If the Association just needs money, ask the Membership for approval to raise dues or cut services. (Even if the Board has authority, asking the Members to approve or decide on a big change is probably a better way to do it.)

Bylaws usually require vote of the Membership to amend -- my HOA requires 50% of eligible Members. Covenants may be more difficult -- my HOA requires 90% of the Membership.