Do Bylaws need to be recorded at court house

Started by JimC12 • 8 replies • 10161 views

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JimC12 (Virginia)
Posts: 12

Posted:

I see our articles have been recorded at the local court house. By laws seem to be an extension of the articles but do they need to be recorded? If any new changes to the Articles or Bylaws do they need to be recorded to be valid?

Jim

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Changes to the Articles of Incorporation must be recorded with the State Corporation Commission

VA Corp Commission Website

Get your HTML codes here!

Guide for Articles of Amendment - Nonstock Corporation

Guide for Articles of Restatement of a Virginia Nonstock Corporation

Changes to Bylaws for Condominiums must be recorded at the Court House:

VA Condominium Act § 55-79.73. Bylaws to be recorded with declaration; contents; unit owners' association; executive organ; amendment of bylaws.

Changes to Bylaws for Non-Condominiums:

Association Bylaws - The bylaws of a property owners’ association are administrative
rules, guidelines and requirements that are based upon and support the declaration and the
Articles of Incorporation. The bylaws detail the authority and responsibility of the board,
and may be recorded in the County Land Records but the law does not require recording [from the Fairfax County Community Associations Manual]

Questions:

contact the Clerk’s Office at (804) 371-9733 or toll-free in Virginia at (866) 722-2551.

Changes to the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions must always be filed with the court house and/or county land office

Tim

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By TimB4 on 12/20/2010 7:34 AM
C

Get your HTML codes here!

Sorry about this link. It's what I use to post links within this forum. I failed to remove it from the body of the post prior to submitting.

Tim

JimC12 (Virginia)
Posts: 12

Posted:

Tim,

Thanks for the information hopefully we can get things streamlined so can focus on more important issues.
Jim

StanH5 (Colorado)
Posts: 89

Posted:

Your by-laws are an illusion. Your HOA Board is above the law and basically untouchable. HOA by-laws and state laws and legislation that are seemingly entrenched in ensuring your HOA has government oversight, complies with basic property rights, and provides homeowners with a good deal of protection from an abusive and/or corrupt Board are an empty bucket. The problem is, there are plenty of governing documents and legislation but no means of enforcement. Your by-laws have no enforceable remedy for homeowners, none! Your State legislation defines no means of enforcement or penalties. The Courts are ineffective, expensive, bogged down in legalese, and biased towards your HOA (try finding a case where a homeowner sued a Board and got remedy especially since the law was changed to allow lawyers in Small Claims Court). Then to make all this mess worse, if you try to sue your HOA they simply take your money (HOA dues) and fight you in Court with your HOA lawyer. Your by-laws, therefore, serve this purpose: the Board uses them to enforce covenants (good thing) but you are hopeless when using them to make your Board accountable. In Colorado we have the following legislation that supposedly was intended to govern HOA's and reads with authority and thoroughness and provides the impression that someone in your government is looking out for you: CCIOA (Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act), SB06089 and SB100, Colorado Non-Profit Corporation Act, etc. The nasty and untold secret is that in all this pile of paper there is no documented means of enforcement, no responsible governing entity to work with homeowners to mediate and settle disputes with their HOA Boards, or stated penalties for non-compliance: NONE. You can search legal web sites (almost exclusively involved with defending dysfunctional Boards) that will explain these pieces of legislation, how HOA's are to comply, and incorporating them into their by-laws. However, you will be hard pressed to find any information explaining penalties for non-compliance. Why, they don't exist. Your HOA by-laws and State efforts on oversight are empty and a total smoke screen.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Stan,

I'm not sure what your post has to do with the question of recording bylaws within the State of VA. The passage you cite does discuss bylaws (if you stretch it). Contrary to the passage you posted there have been cases that have been won by homeowners. They have been posted in this forum by various members. Here is a recent one I posted: HOATALK Forum - Subject: Does the Board really have the authority?.

This site was set up for members of the Board to learn from others how to do their job properly. This is done by sharing experiences and offering opinions on topics. Many people, including myself, have listed other websites when they were relevant to the discussion or to provide a basis for their opinion.

I'm honestly not sure that this is your intent in posting the website you cited. Are you associated with the website you are listing?

Personally, I also belong to a site the is very much anti-HOA. I participate in that forum as well as this one. I initially had found the anti-HOA site when I had an issue with my HOA. later I found HOAtalk and discovered that Board members are human too.

From being active in both sites, I've discovered that the main issue is a lack of understanding how things should work. This applies to both members of the Board and members of the Association. Heck, I never took the time to fully read the governing documents or associated State and Federal laws prior to having an issue between myself and my Board. I honestly believe that this is typical for most people who live within a coveted community (especially if they never liven within one before).

Stan, please participate in all topics you wish. I would ask that if your posting isn't directly relevant to the question/topic to please start a new topic. This way, your specific issue or topic of interest will be easier to find for others looking at the forum.

Tim

DonnaS (Tennessee)
Posts: 5,671

Posted:

Thank You Tim,

I posted a reply to Stan as well. Sounds like an angry H.O. needing a place to vent. We welcome some of these as long as they don't get nasty. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but please be civil and rational.

StanH5 (Colorado)
Posts: 89

Posted:

as mentioned, by laws, at least in the state of Colorado, are not enforceable via any State statute, bill, or law, period, there is no language in the law on how, when, where, why to enforce, furthermore, by laws generally state that a homeowner and Board should mediate but depending on the issue, and in particular if it involves fraud or questionable financial practices, a Board will avoid mediation and use your HOA funds to hire a lawyer to fight you, that is a fact and a main complaint from homeowners, your by laws most likely are recorded with a legal entity but there is where the goodness ends for the homeowner, filing with the county or other entity complies with a law but doesn't force any HOA to abide by the by laws

please refrain from labeling folks on this forum as angry and disgruntled just because one doesn't agree with another and yes some are upset and want change in HOA governance and that doesn't necessarily mean they are simply an angry person, so enough, please with the tired old tactic of labeling someone angry to dismiss their factual comments, thanks

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Stan,

As I stated earlier, I don't see how your response is relevent to the question from the original poster who asked if bylaws needed to be recorded in the State of Virginia. However, I do believe that your comments certainly deserve a thread of their own and have take it upon myself to post it in it's own thread: Bylaws - who enforces them

Tim

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