Recordation of Covenants and Bylaws

Started by CjC • 13 replies • 1312 views

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CjC
Posts: 210

Posted:

We are in Maryland. We understand that Covenants must be on record with the Maryland Homeowners Depository and also with the land records. Do the Bylaws have to be as well? Every time the bylaws change, do they need to be refiled? It seems that the Covenants have been updated a few times over the years and maybe not all the changes recorded as they are approved. Lets say the HOA members approve an new covenants every 5 years ,but the HOA only records it every 10 years, is that ok?

SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964

Posted:

Those are legal questions that are best answered by an attorney, but first, why not contact the Homeowners Depository as well as your county recorder and see what they say?

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

CJ,

Concerning any requirement to record or not record bylaws varies by State and if the development is a condominium or an HOA. You will need to look at the applicable laws.

If any document is required to be recorded with the County/City, then any changes to those documents must also be filed. Failure to file can cause issues if they anything was challenged through the courts.

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

CC&R's are to be filed properly. They need to be done at the county courthouse. A lawyer may be required to file. There is an expense associated with filing the CC&R's and Articles of Incorporation. Which are both documents that need to be on file. Articles are at the state level. By-laws I would say as a courtesy can be attached with the CC&R's. They aren't considered "Public" documents like the other two are. They are considered HOA internal documents. Along with ACC if you have one.

We had to pay like $700 to file our documentation. It wasn't free. That may vary per state. We also had to show we had the required vote when we filed. Which was 75% for Article changes and 90% for the CC&R's. So a document with signatures of owners had to be attached.

Former HOA President

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

I seriously doubt an attorney is needed to physically go to the county offices and file the documents for recording.

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

You need the lawyer to help draft the documents and verify the votes. Our lawyer did file them for us. There is a cost associated with that at the courthouse. Just like filing a lien they charge and require a lawyer for us as well.

Former HOA President

GenoS (Florida)
Posts: 4,276

Posted:

You might. Here, the signatures of directors on a statement that the required number of votes was received, with the seal of the corporation affixed by the secretary is all we need to certify that an amendment was properly passed. Maybe in a large association with a close vote on a contentious amendment you'd want an attorney to do that, but it's not necessary per se. We do have our attorney prepare the paperwork but that's the extent of his involvement.

RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By GenoS on 08/10/2017 4:50 PM
You might. Here, the signatures of directors on a statement that the required number of votes was received, with the seal of the corporation affixed by the secretary is all we need to certify that an amendment was properly passed. Maybe in a large association with a close vote on a contentious amendment you'd want an attorney to do that, but it's not necessary per se. We do have our attorney prepare the paperwork but that's the extent of his involvement.

Same Here.

I know Michigan requires Bylaws to be recorded.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Recording Bylaws and Rules & Regulations is not required in SC, but ours are.

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By MelissaP1 on 08/10/2017 4:33 PM
You need the lawyer to help draft the documents and verify the votes. Our lawyer did file them for us. There is a cost associated with that at the courthouse. Just like filing a lien they charge and require a lawyer for us as well.

Depends on your State ... Not always need an attorney at least not in my state ... If you are removing a section such as (All dogs must be on a leash). Then the HOA can just file an Amendment and have all owner's who agree sign. As long as the required percentage agree and sign you can then just file the document with the County Records and pay the nominal filing fee. I would agree that if you are making complex changes it would be better to have an attorney at least review before filing.

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By CjC on 08/10/2017 8:42 AM
We are in Maryland. We understand that Covenants must be on record with the Maryland Homeowners Depository and also with the land records. Do the Bylaws have to be as well? Depends on your State laws ... some require them to be filed while others do not. Were your bylaws filed in the past? If they were then high probabability your state requires them to be filed. Every time the bylaws change, do they need to be refiled? Same answer as before. It seems that the Covenants have been updated a few times over the years and maybe not all the changes recorded as they are approved. Lets say the HOA members approve an new covenants every 5 years ,but the HOA only records it every 10 years, is that ok? NO ... The CCR's are what is attached to individual's property titles. If changed they need to be immediately filed. If they are not filed and someone sells a home the new owner is provided or can research the filed documents and potentially cannot be held liable for documents not filed. Their Title Insurance will also note the documents attached at the time of their purchase. If you try to file documents against their property title later which they had no vote or input ... it could be Katie Bar the Door and potential legal litigation..

CjC
Posts: 210

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JanetB2 on 08/10/2017 11:12 PM

Thanks for the input. I went to the courthouse to research and it seems the original Covenants and bylaws were files but only covenant changes after that. I need to do a bit more research to see when a certain covenant was changed to see when and if it was filed. The records are a "little" all over the place. It's a very large HOA that has been in existence for decades, but the developer has gone bankrupt MULTIPLE times and was a little haphazard for a while.

JanetB2 (Colorado)
Posts: 4,219

Posted:

You potentially will have more CCR's filed with your County Records vs Bylaws. If only the original Bylaws have been filed then most likely they have not been changed in past by the Developer. Bylaws are for your potential Non-Profit HOA Corporation and just mostly describe the duties of the corporation and again do not change much.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

As I understand it some states require Covenant changes be recorded with each deed and some charge to do such to each deed. In other states (SC I believe) the change gets filed once.

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