Articles of Incorporation

What are the governing Documents? Articles of Incorporation or our Homeowners Documents?
Ed

ED,

The governing documents include:

The Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs)
The Articles of Incorporation (if your Association is incorporated)
Bylaws
Resolutions (additional rules & regulations adopted by the board)

Additionally, The Association must comply with:

Federal Laws
Federal Regulations
State Laws
State Regulations
County Codes
City Ordinances

But be sure to read the laws as many sections will defer to the governing documents and only apply if the governing documents are silent.

Ed,

There are usually three or four separate documents that make up the governing documents. These are:

1. A Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R's). The exact title seems to vary from place to place. If it is a condo association, there may be a Declaration of Horizontal Regime instead of CC&R's. Whatever the title, this document is created by the developer and recorded with whoever records deeds in your area. The declaration is by far the most important because when you purchase property subject to it you are bound by its terms and the restrictions it places on the use of your property. A declaration will also normally make you a member of an association by virtue of owning the property.

2. Articles of Incorporation are filed with the state to incorporate the association, usually as a non-profit. The exact content of the Articles varies by state, but usually contains little more than the technical language needed to have the state recognize the corporation. The articles are a public record and copies can be obtained from the state agency that regulates corporations. Normally, the developer is the one who files the original articles, but the association may amend them later as needed.

3. Bylaws are the most misunderstood document of all. Technically, bylaws are the association's rules on who may run for the board of directors, when elections are held, who may vote, etc. Bylaws are often misused to try to create additional rules or restrictions on what owners may do with their property. Whether your bylaws are recorded is a matter of state law, but it appears that most states do not require that they be recorded. The developer normally provides the original bylaws but the owners may amend them as they wish once they have control of the association.

4. Rules and Regulations may be established by the association if authorized to do so by the declaration. The developer normally provides the original rules and regs but the owners may amend them as they wish once they have control of the association.

In addition to the above, plats may have been filed with local authorities. While not generally considered a governing document, the plat may show easements and common areas that are not otherwise described in the declaration.

John,

Our CC&R's conferred upon the developer three votes per acre versus one vote per acre for owners. When our first owner-elected board of totally clueless members took over, one of their first acts was to try to amend the bylaws to remove the developer's superior voting power. Our association's lawyer LHAO and then rather strongly recommended rescinding the bylaw change because one cannot amend the CC&R's by amending the bylaws.