Non-Home Owner Wants To Be On The Board

Started by GreggK2 • 8 replies • 1969 views

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GreggK2 (Kansas)
Posts: 86

Posted:

First, I wanted to thank everyone for the input earlier about a home owner who wanted to be on the board but we suspected she was wanting to do it for all the wrong reasons. After much discussion, we extended an invitation to join the board and surprise! She turned it down.

Now another person just posted to our neighborhood HOA site. She is bothered by the fact that our governing documents only allow home owners (people whose names are actually on the title of the house) to be on the board. She feels this should be changed. She lives with her boyfriend, who is on the title of the house, but wants to be on the board. Long ago, I explained to her that the docs spell out that only home owners can serve on the board. She is under the wrong impression that the BoD has the authority to change this. We do not. It would have to be 2/3's of the home owners that make this decision but it isn't sinking in with her.

Could you offer up suggestions as to how I can properly explain this to her?

NpS (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 4,216

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By GreggK2 on 01/12/2016 10:20 AM
First, I wanted to thank everyone for the input earlier about a home owner who wanted to be on the board but we suspected she was wanting to do it for all the wrong reasons. After much discussion, we extended an invitation to join the board and surprise! She turned it down.

Now another person just posted to our neighborhood HOA site. She is bothered by the fact that our governing documents only allow home owners (people whose names are actually on the title of the house) to be on the board. She feels this should be changed. She lives with her boyfriend, who is on the title of the house, but wants to be on the board. Long ago, I explained to her that the docs spell out that only home owners can serve on the board. She is under the wrong impression that the BoD has the authority to change this. We do not. It would have to be 2/3's of the home owners that make this decision but it isn't sinking in with her.

Could you offer up suggestions as to how I can properly explain this to her?

Easy. Tell her that her boyfriend has the authority to call a special meeting if she can get enough signatures on a petition. At that meeting, you'll put her issue to a vote. All she has to do is get at least 2/3 of the homeowners to vote yes.

Sikubali jukumu. Read all posts at your own risk.

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

Ha! Quelle surprise she turned it down! I applaud your taking the high road and giving her the opportunity to serve. I wish I could have seen the look on her face when you offered it.

I think you meant to write re, her boyfriend, "... who is not on the title of the house".

It's probably not in the board's scope of authority to change the elgibility requirements of directors on its own. The way to amend the bylaws should be in the bylaws themselves and usually requires some percentage of voting interests to vote in favor.

You could point out to her chapter and verse in the bylaws that says only owners (names on the title) are eligible to be directors.

DonA2 (Arizona)
Posts: 170

Posted:

Quote:

I think you meant to write re, her boyfriend, "... who is not on the title of the house".

Her boyfriend's name could very well be on the deed, but not hers and therefore she wouldn't be eligible to serve. Her boyfriend, however, would be eligible.

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

Yes maybe I read that wrong and it's his name on the deed.

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By GreggK2 on 01/12/2016 10:20 AM

Could you offer up suggestions as to how I can properly explain this to her?

If she hasn't listened and understood what you've told her so far, she doesn't sound like a very good board candidate anyway. Back to the question:

The bylaws and CCRs (or governing docs in general) are a contract between the homeowners. Those documents contain specific rules regarding who can be on the board, and how they can be changed, and those rules have to be followed or the board is breaking the contract with the owners. Suggest that the non-member might want to help the community in other ways, such as serving on committees (if allowed), and a good first step to helping the association is for her to read and understand the governing docs.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

DjB2 (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 49

Posted:

Just like here in Pennsylvania, I imagine that the Kansas state law on the subject supersedes whatever is written in your HOA documents. Check the "Kansas Uniform Common Interest Owners Bill of Rights", and whatever is in there concerning your issue, is what you have to go by.

As is written concerning this law, passed in 2011, "Residential projects in Kansas need to assure that their CIC documents conform to the mandatory provisions of this law. However, the mandatory requirements also apply to previously-formed CICs, so if an existing CIC document is contrary to a mandatory rule, the existing provision is unenforceable. Given the sheer number of mandatory requirements, chances are fairly high that a review of the CIC documents for an existing development will uncover provisions contrary to the those requirements. Kansas CICs should be aware of this new law and undertake to address any discrepancies in their operations."

NigelB (Texas)
Posts: 254

Posted:

I would imagine that original ByLaws have a clause which allows a non association member to be a director of the association. This is primarily done so that the developer can run the association until it is turned over to the members.

We are currently operating under our original ByLaws and have been out of developer control since 2012 - we are contemplating having the ByLaws amended to allow only members of the association be directors. This will have to be put before the membership at our next regular meeting and will require a majority of a quorum to pass.

DjB2 (Pennsylvania)
Posts: 49

Posted:

Our Pennsylvania current Bylaws, our original ones from when this development was built in 1981, state that anyone can be on our all-volunteer self-run Board: owners, residents, rental tenants, or even non-residents or non-owners. But so far for the last 9 years no one has volunteered. Apparently our 31 owners, our residents, and the occupants of our 12 rental units must all be happy with the job we have been and are doing. - DjB2, the current President

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