“Owner” is defined as record owner

You probably need to take a closer look at your documents to see what they say about voting, and if it's unclear, ask the association attorney.

You have 21 lots, therefore 21 maximum votes, one per lot. If you need 60% to set a quorum, you need 13 (I rounded up the number) to show up or submit proxies to hold the meeting. Usually if a proxy is submitted, but the owner later shows up for the meeting, the proxy is cancelled and the owner can vote in person. That's usually how it works in HOAs. It can be different in condos because some condos have more square footage, therefore things like roofing or plumbing for that unit would require more resources, hence the owners pay more money and have more votes. I don't live in a condo, so I'm sure someone who does will explain that better than me.

But you live in a single-family detached home community, so here's another way to look at it. When assessments are paid, the fee covers each lot, so if the assessment is $100 a month, you wouldn't ask for, nor be entitled to $200 or $300 just because two or three people co-own the lot. Likewise, if a lot has more than one owner, those homeowners must decide among themselves who will cast the vote and do it. We have several co-owners in our community and that's how it's written in our documents.

Interesting how your community has been around for 20 years and now the multiple homeowners want more than one vote, which is stupid. Everything the association does will be divided equally among the lots - do they think Lot 15 will get extra roofing or trees because it has three owners instead of one? If that's the case, I would say if two or three owners each want a vote, then the association should get two or three assessments, e.g. $300 a month for lot 15. Make that argument and see what happens. If the multiple owners still squawk, I'd say let them sue and make the argument again and see how a judge would rule. Let them explain why they deserve more votes after 20 years when they only own one unit between them (that should be fun)

Unless they're poorly written, your governing documents should state how votes are assigned. As others said, it's usually one vote per lot in single family home communities. If there are multiple owners of that single lot/home, they have to figure out among themselves how to vote.

This is also not open to interpretation or discussion. If the board decides to appease the complainers, then others can file a lawsuit to have the results of the vote tossed out.

If you really feel as though the current way of doing things is unjust, then it's possible to amend your governing documents. This will require hiring a lawyer to rewrite the necessary parts of your documents *and* have the new language approved by a majority vote of owners (and probably a super-majority of 67% or 75%). There are some amendments that may require unanimous approval from the membership - for example, in my condo community, any change to how assessments are calculated requires 100% approval.

Leigh

Typically when more then one person owns the lot (be it husband and wife, or a group of people) they decide who is to vote for them. 21 lots, 21 votes.

Typically, the covenants define the voting rights of members.

It's typically 1 vote per lot.

Using the multiple owners issue, what happens if a corporation owns a lot? Would all members of the board of that corporation have a vote or all employees of the corporation? What about trusts?

Being a member of an Association is one thing.
Voting rights are another.

Check your governing documents to find the answer.
If the governing documents are silent, which would be unusual, you have an issue and the board will need to come out with a policy.

Here is our verbiage from our covenants:

ARTICLE II
VOTING RIGHTS

Each member shall be entitled to one vote for each Lot in which they hold the interest. When more than one person holds such interest in any Lot, all such persons shall be members. The vote for such Lot shall be exercised as they among themselves determine, but in no event shall more than one vote be cast with respect to any Lot.

Yes. The original declaration from 1997 by the developer is 10 pages. Then a few more in 2004. I’ve paraphrased the relevant part. Just nowhere does it say directly 1 lot 1 vote.

Thanks for the comments and confirming my own point of view. There is a little twist on this. The 1997 declaration defines lot “Owner(s). That confused me until I noticed in the 2004 document the the definition was amended to “Owner”. Thus for voting we must recognize a singular lot Owner, whether one or more record owners listed on the deed. If multiple record owners they have to figure out how to cast their collective 1 vote.