HOA Bylaw change

a corporate bylaw can not restrict a homeowner

corporate bylaws only govern the actual operation of the corporation, they are NOT part of the covenants and restrictions

? do you mean an amendment to the CCRS was passed by the requisite vote ?

if so, it may, or may not, be enforceable against a previous condition

since you are obviously 'clueless' and are seeking internet 'hack' advice you probably will ignore:

seek legal advice from a COMPETANT contract attorney

Thank you Tim,

The information that has been passed along to me is that the original owner did have approval from the Developer, before enough units had been sold to form the HOA, as stated, their custom deck construction was built to accommodate the required proximity to the building and additional electrical was put in at the time of build and is different than the other units deck set up. Now, after it needing to be replaced, has the HOA put the restriction in place. My observation is that there have been numerous board members, who have come and gone in a short span of time and very little attendance at board meetings, so the few ( less than 5 ) have made this decision. I will research which document was possibly amended. If the amendment was in the CC&R and not the bylaws, it that proper protocol on the part of the board?

Karen

I am not nor do I play a lawyer.

I do agree with my fellow posters.

1. Any restriction such as not allowing hot tubs should be in the Covenants/Deed Restrictions not the Bylaws and most certainly not in the Rules & Regulations.

2. The owner of the present hot tub rightfully can keep and/or repair it even if the repair is a replacement.

Hope this helps.

CCR amendments typically have to be approved (in some cases by 2/3 majority) of the home owners. The Board cannot modify the CCR's or the Bylaws by its own resolve.

My experience is that many Board members act in perfect ignorance of the governing documents.

Ed

Unfortunately the only way to get compliance oftentimes seems to be to go to court. Because that is tough to do the erring Board members just go their merry way.

Ed

It might take a while to come to trial, but filing a law suit can be a matter of weeks. You would think that the fastest way to infuriate the residents would be to cause the HOA funds to be expended on useless litigation, especially when the BOD is using the HOA funds just to kick the can down the road.

Ed

It often does come down to people who have too much time on their hands taking on the BOD positions. A often their life experience ill prepares them to make good decisions.

We had a situation where a resident moved out and left several mattresses in the driveway. They hoped the trash man would take them; that is the one thing the trash guys -won't- take, and mattresses and box springs are the only things not accepted in the city landfill.

So, one of the Board members is out walking and sees this situation. He immediately e-mails the other Board members (including me) to do a --retroactive-- fine starting the day previous. The CCR's require that ten day notice be given before any fines can be levied (it actually says that in two different places). Further -- this exact situation was covered in the CCR's. The Board can pay to have such unkempt conditions removed and then that cost is added to the next year's assessment (dues).

Even after I pointed out that the CCR's covered this exact situation, several of the Board members were dumb enough to say they still favored a fine. I say dumb because all this went on by e-mail, which of course created a paper trail of their ignorance and arrogance.

Ed

They did, and I have copies of their e-mails.

What I think would matter is if they ever in fact did assess a fine against that resident. That would 'consummate' their actions. It is too long a story to go into here, but they may yet be called to account.

Ed

Probably the only way at this point to find out if they assessed a fine would be through Discovery pursuant to a law suit.

If they did, then that owner/resident would have standing in a legal action.

The point remains that even after they were told the procedure in the CCR's (an assessment next year) three of the Board members still wanted to retroactively assess a fine.

Ed

like I said: morons

Walter did they sell and move or just move? Besides being against the documents, if they no longer own, then the BOD has no power to fine them. IMHO if you know where they went, simply sue them in small claims court for the cost of removal. Granted that doesn't guarantee payment but you can file a lien if they don't pay which would affect their credit more than an unpaid HOA fine.

Can you edit these notes, because I misread the one. There is no need to sue in SCC because the CCR's allow the cost or clean-up/removal to be assessed with the next year's dues.

Ed