Secret Board

Started by BobbyM • 3 replies • 1070 views

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BobbyM (Texas)
Posts: 1

Posted:

Just recently it has come to my attention that multiple residents in my neighborhood have been forced to obey rules in our HOA by someone 'representing' our HOA.
Sounds normal, but I have lived in the same house for 12 years with my parents. Not once have we been informed that our HOA is active, never paid any dues, never heard of any meeting etc.
If there is someone trying to enforce HOA rules from 1974 (then our rules were made) or a secret board are they legally bound to their position considering that not all members of our neighborhood were notified that the HOA was active let alone holding elections?

Part two: If our HOA is indeed inactive and we just have a rouge neighbor or two enforcing old rules out of know where are they legally able to do so without an active board to enforce the rules.

Thanks

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Well the first thing to do would be to find out if the HOA were active. I would contact the Texas Secretary of State's Office (information should be online) and find out the status of the corporation that is the HOA. Then look who the registered agent is for the corporation and contact them to find out who the Board is.

And yes if there are deed restrictions in place, one neighbor can enforce against another neighbor through the courts. Could be this guy is simply telling people if they don't do X, he's going to take them to court.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

KevinK7 (Florida)
Posts: 1,343

Posted:

Also, check to see if the covenants and restrictions still exist. Some older ones include an expiration date with details on how to renew (and some state laws even force expiration if a certain process is not followed).

MatthewW4 (Arizona)
Posts: 500

Posted:

Bobby,

Subdivisions with covenants but without an HOA are not uncommon. Two out of three homes I owned fit that description. Your subdivision may be one like that.

It is possible that a few owners feel compelled to try to enforce the restrictions by claiming to be an HOA. If there is no provision in your deed restrictions for an association, then they cannot lawfully exercise any authority over your property. Even if your deed restrictions do allow for an association, one group of owners cannot lawfully claim to be that association without compliance with a whole slew of state corporation statutes. Among those would be requirements to file reports, hold a members' meeting, elect a board of directors, and adopt bylaws.

In those situations where there are deed restrictions but no association, any owner can force compliance with the deed restrictions through a court order. In fact, most CC&R's permit an owner to do that even if there is an association.

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