Authority of BOD

Unless your governing allows for that you have no authority to mandate anything that is not considered a common area. I am surprised owners have agreed to obey by your requirements thus far. Whatever is inside a unit is personal property.

You can implement rules that affect how the property is operated. For example you may require that owners paint their homes on outside every so many years, but you can't require them to do it on the inside.

Bob - how old are your units.

The electrical issues could be a real safety concern.

Perhaps a group rate for re-wiring could be negotiated.

The updates may have been ordered (mandated) by inspectors, too.(fire or code)

Plus, most of this falls under the individual's insurance policies and not the condo's. (Melissa)

I argue that is not always the case. If one owner installs hurricane , yes his insurance can go down. But if every owner in the complex installs hurricane shutters, the wind insurance policy for the association will be decreased. This is also why some condominiums make hurricane shutters a mandatory requirement.

Hello Jeff,
Thanks for you reply. If the board can't mandate anything that isn't common area, then how, in years past, have they directed what color blinds/drapes are visible, or that upper units are not allowed to have any flooring other than carpet for sound reasons?
Bob

Hello Melissa,
The point is that the board has taken these suggestions and mandated that if owners do not do them, the board will have it done and charge the owners. There is no question whether most of these things are good advice, I'm just trying to pin down what is the limit of a BOD's powers.
Bob

Bob, it can be argued that color of the drapes affect how the the building looks and if you are trying to keep a uniform look it goes. Personally I don't agree with that and wouldn't ever go for it, but it might work for some. What's next you'll mandate how bright of a light bulb one can install? After all at night different light builds will give a building a not uniform look.

Floors is a completely different discussion which was covered here numerous times. Also if you notice most CC&Rs don't mandate what carpet needs to be installed, but rather say that hard surface flooring is not allowed. This is because most board members don't bother to educate themselves on current sound insulation techniques for hard surface flooring. But again, this is a complete different discussion.

Some board go too far in trying to control their associations. Probably the intent is good, the implementation mostly sucks. Where do you stop with your rules? Schedule on when people take a shower, after all increased water flow at one time will damage pipes. Schedule on when using a restroom? All owners flushing at the same time will affect a sewer line. Schedule on when residents may drive their cars? All cars at once will sure pollute air and damage the road. Do you see where I am going? There has got to be common sense. If you are worried that your electrical wiring is old you should hire a contractor and address it as a community. If you think you need fire extinguishers why not purchase them in bulk and place them in a common area near doors. If your plumbing is affected by garbage disposals you need to fix your pluming not control my life on what I can or can't do in MY kitchen.

Are we dealing with attached units here?

If there are attached units, I would expect that the CCRs gives the association the right to regulate safety to protect not only common elements, but also to regulate safety in instances when a hazard is one unit can affect the safety of other units. Keep in mind also that regulating safety in individual units can have an effect on the insurance premiums for the common elements, which in turn affects everyone's dues.

Fire extinguishers are a good example. Insurance companies typically offer reduced premiums for owners who have fire extinguishers (usually in the kitchen and/or garage).