HOA overturns official member vote-Kansas

Started by JaniceB7 • 5 replies • 407 views

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JaniceB7 (Kansas)
Posts: 1

Posted:

Our HOA voted, at the annual meeting in January, to replace trial solar lanterns with new gas lanterns which would include a $192 Assessment to each resident. There was a quorum and the vote was considered official and legal.
Now, the Board has decided to go out to the entire neighborhood with a 'mail-in' vote. Is it legal for them to overturn an official vote taken at an annual meeting in accordance with our bylaws? The 'mail-in' vote did not include all the information discussed or disclosed at the annual meeting or any key facts about gas vs solar, other than the assessment information for new gas lanterns.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

It depends.

If the proposed change is not something that would require approval of a majority of the membership, then the vote may be more of an opinion poll and not binding. It's possible that the board felt that too few owners were present at the meeting to get a true picture of community opinion. Since the change would involve an assessment, it's appropriate to let everyone have their say.

If the proposed change does require homeowner approval (for example, creating a playground where none currently exists), then it's very likely that any vote taken in a meeting would not be sufficient unless the entire community attended and was able to vote. Since you referred to a quorum being present, I assume that a significant number of owners did not attend. In this case, "overturning" the vote is mandatory.

Depending on how your governing documents are written and what your state's laws say about HOA governance, it is possible that a binding vote could be taken even though only a minority of owners were present at the meeting and voted. In which case you'd have a minority making the decision for the community as a whole. It may be legal but it could lead to problems if the minority voted for something that does not reflect the majority opinion of the community. Legal does not always mean smart.

MaxB4
Posts: 3,513

Posted:

A special assessment may require a higher vote, per the CCRs that what is required for quorum at an annual meeting. In this instance, the CCRs would prevail.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

Janice

Max cited one example of it may require a majority of all owners to approve.

Alps it might be considered a Capital Improvement thus requiring a majority of all owners to approve.

Bottom line is I believe the BOD is correct.

BenA2 (Texas)
Posts: 1,273

Posted:

As others have mentioned, it sounds like the meeting attendees approved a special assessment which usually requires at least a majority of all owners to approve (by CC&Rs or by state law). If that's the case, the annual meeting vote would have been invalid unless the requisite number of owners were present and voted in favor of the assessment. Also, some CC&Rs and/or state laws require special procedures for voting on a special assessment. If that wasn't followed, it would also render the vote invalid.

Even if the vote was completely valid, I'm not sure the Board is required to implement everything the membership approves. I think it would depend on how it was worded. For example, "do you approve an assessment for $192 for..." is not the same as "the HOA shall replace..." Certainly, the board would still have to follow due diligence before implementing an approved project. It might be a question for an attorney.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

What fine responses you received, Janice.

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