Bylaw v. Rules, stealth change

I am trying to determine if this is a Bylaws issue or a Rules and Regulations issue.

I am disabled and I found out early in 2008 that I could have an assistance animal. I requested reasonable accommodation from my condo Board. I was repeatedly denied. I informed the Board that the condo Bylaws were not in compliance with the FHA. The Pet Policy was no cats or dogs, but a disabled resident could have a specially trained service dog if the resident could prove the need and prove the dog had special training. This was under the ADA, not the FHA. When I informed them that the Bylaws were not in compliance with the law, the Board crafted a new document that changed the applicable law to the FHA, and they included very basic information about how disabled residents could have assistance animals. This document was written by the condo lawyer in May 2008.

The problem is that this document was not ever distributed to residents. There was no discussion at Board meetings about changing the applicable law. Some Board members did not know that this change was made. The Board attributed this new document to an Open Board Meeting where there was no mention of it, and there is nothing in the minutes of that meeting or any other meeting since then about this change.

There is a Pet Policy in the Bylaws. This was the original Pet Policy from when the building became a condo. The Bylaws were revised about ten years ago, and the Pet polciy stayed the same. There have been revisions of the Pet Policy since then, but they were in the Rules. There is also a book of Rules and Regulations. This has the original Pet Policy plus some updated wording. Since the Bylaws were not updated in 2007, the wording about specially trained service animals that was added to the Pet Policy was put into the Rules and Regs.

In order for there to be a change in the Pet Policy to generally allow dogs and cats, there has to be a vote of residents to change the Bylaws. Can there be a Pet Policy in the Bylaws and the Rules and Regs, and how is it determined when the Board is changing the Bylaws or the Rules?

According to PA state condo law, Bylaws changes can be made by the Board without a vote of residents if the change is updating the Bylaws to be in compliance with the law. But, if this change is not published, is it actually a Bylaws change? If the document was written by the condo lawyer, and not signed by a Board member, is it really a change? The document says it is a Rules and Regulations change, but is it really a Bylaws change?

I filed a HUD complaint in May 2008. 10 months after the Board made this stealth Pet Policy change, the Board only sent documents in their defense to HUD based on the ADA and specially trained service animals. In the stealth document they had fabricated, they had acknowledged that the FHA was the applicable law. This happened again two years later when a second HUD complaint was filed. I think this new document was fabricated to make HUD believe that the Bylaws were in compliance with applicable law in case the complaints got to the point where the Board would have to defend itself.

Now, the Board has issued a new Pet Policy that says the following: "This Policy has been adopted and enacted by the Exexutive Board as a Rule and Regulation to implement and supplement the restrictions of the amended and restated Declaration of 1991 and to replace and supersede all other pet rules and regulations, policies and manuals."

Bylaws changes must be recorded in the county where the building is located. I doubt that this May 2008 document was recorded. HUD told the Board to rescind the May 2008 document.

When and how do you know what should be a Bylaw and what should be a Rule and Regulation?

Thank you for your help.

Tim,

Thank you for your reply. I do not know what document was changed either.

If a document was written and signed by only the condo lawyer, is that a valid document for the HOA? Should all Board members sign a Bylaws change? Does there have to be recorded votes in the minutes for Bylaws and resolution changes? There is no mention in the HOA minutes of any discussion at all of the Pet Policy.

The May 2008 document only mentioned R & Rs. The word "Bylaws" did not appear in the document at all. There is no document that mentions that it is a Bylaws change except that phrase in the new Pet Policy that it "supercedes the Declaration, the Bylaws and the Rules. If the new Pet Policy published in 2011 "supercedes" the Bylaws and the Declaration of Condominium, but it is just a Rule and Regulation, is that document valid? Can a R & R "supercede" the Bylaws and Declaration of Condominium if there are discrepancies between these documents?

Can the HOA make a R & Rs change or a Bylaws or a Rules change and not inform some Board members and not distribute it to residents? What are the consequences of doing that?

Is it required for the HOA to amend the Bylaws if they are not compliant with the law? If they do not officially amend the Bylaws to bring them into compliance with a specific Bylaws amendment, would a R & R change be sufficient under the law?

Is there a federal condominium law? I have not been able to find a link to it. Would you provide this for me please?

You wrote "Resolutions are typically used for adopting reasonable rules that are not covered within a higher document or to clarify something within a higher document." Should the change have been made in the Bylaws and not in the R & Rs if the HOA is attempting to bring the Pet Policy in compliance with the law?

Your points 1) and 2) seem to conflict. You said on 1) that "a resolution that doesn't conflict with federal law could be considered in control even though there is conflict between the resolution and the bylaws." You said in 2) that "Since the Bylaws are in conflict with Federal law and the Bylaws have control over resolutions, then only the Federal law applies."
If "Bylaws have control over resolutions," how can "a resolution that doesn't conflict with federal law could be considered in control?" I think my question is if the Resolutions and the Bylaws conflict, and the Bylaws are in confict with federal law, does the HOA have to officially amend the Bylaws?

The new Pet Policy resolution is also in conflict with federal law. HUD has verified this to me. What are my recourses?

Thank you for your help.

Your recourse, as best I can see, is to obtain your service animal, and do the very best you can to enjoy your life.
Make sure you repeatedly refer to said animal as a "service animal", and it wouldn't hurt to have a plastic bag with copies of a doctor's letter/prescription/note that says you need/should have/benefit from a service animal (although legally, you don't have to prove anything, it's a nice defense to have ready).

Federal law trumps lower laws when there is a conflict. It doesn't really matter if the HOA properly votes/records/rewrites their rules, they are still trumped. I once saw an HOA charter that stated that 'persons of color' were not allowed ownership in the lake cabins. Even as late as 1997, that wording stood in their charter, because no one ever took the time to redo it. Was it legal? heck no!

Get your service animal, and go enjoy your life in your home. IF the HOA wants to make an issue of it, let them. They will find very quickly that you have the power of the government backing you on this one.