Removing your HOA

Started by AletaA • 9 replies • 170 views

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AletaA (South Carolina)
Posts: 2

Posted:

We submitted a petition with over 51% of the community signatures to the management company notifying them of our intent to remove the current board members. The management company responded that the current board has declined to set up a meeting within 10 to 45 days to meet with the community. Flatly refusing to acknowledge the community's request. Our by-laws state that the board can be removed at any time for any reason with our repriseal.
How have others handled this issue?

ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,338

Posted:

AletaA, is this a condominium? Or subdivision of single family homes? This will determine the applicable statutes.

Can you quote exactly what your governing documents (bylaws, probably) say about removing directors?

When is the next, regular annual election?

AletaA (South Carolina)
Posts: 2

Posted:

Yes this is a small group of single homes, where we own the land and the house. The community owns the common areas
They can be removed for any reason...ours is no confidence.
The next annual election is in November

ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,338

Posted:

Do the Bylaws require a Special Meeting to remove the directors?

This is why I asked you to quote verbatim what your bylaws say.

The South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation statute speaks to removing directors. Have you read the relevant section of this statute?

This is an intensely legal process. Many fail to remove directors because they do not comply with either state law or the bylaws to the letter. The Board and manager have zero legal obligation to tell you how to get this right. In fact if the board or manager gave you "legal advice" they would be violating their fiduciary duty and for the manager, possibly the law (practicing law without a license while being paid to give legal advice).

ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,338

Posted:

The South Carolina Nonprofit Corporation statute does require that, to remove a director, a meeting be called.

Did you all follow to the letter the steps for calling a Special Meeting of the owners?

Go to https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t33c031.php and keyword the statute using words like "remov."

DeanJ
Posts: 1,786

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By AletaA on 03/31/2025 12:34 PM
We submitted a petition with over 51% of the community signatures to the management company notifying them of our intent to remove the current board members. The management company responded that the current board has declined to set up a meeting within 10 to 45 days to meet with the community. Flatly refusing to acknowledge the community's request. Our by-laws state that the board can be removed at any time for any reason with our repriseal.
How have others handled this issue?

Most HOA declarations make it difficult to remove a board member. I doubt a petition of 51% of the owners is sufficient.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,061

Posted:

Since the board will not call a meeting, your group can call the meeting.

Prior to the meeting, you must solicit for others to serve (if the recall is successful)

You must meet notice requirements (typically described within the applicable corporate statute)
Meeting notice must be mailed (not emailed)
Meeting notice must include an agenda
Meeting notice must include place and time.
Meeting notice should include names of those running to replace (if recall is successful)
Meeting notice should include an option of using a proxy.

You can't just remove the existing board, you must also elect new board members - otherwise, regardless of the vote, the current board will stay on the board in accordance with corporate law.

At the meeting, you must have a sign-in sheet.
At the meeting, you must meet quorum (number typically identified within your governing documents)
At the meeting, you must have two sets of ballots (one for the recall and one if the recall is successful)
At the meeting, those in attendance will need to elect someone to preside (if the President or VP doesn't show)
At the meeting, someone must keep minutes

After the meeting, if successful, if the board does not recognize the results, you might need to obtain an attorney.

Personally, I always thought it was easier and less expensive simply to not reelect the individuals at the next election.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Having been through something similar a couple years ago...

* Do you have a group of capable folks who will volunteer to replace the ousted directors?

* Are you sure they won't back out?

* Are you sure they are better than the current directors?

Votes of no confidence are a dime a dozen. Many people think they know better than their current boards how to run a community association. Some of them do. Most don't unless they've actually served on a community association board before, and even those folks are questionable. One of our former board members served a couple terms and still doesn't know the difference between a director and an officer or between a board meeting and a meeting of the membership. I am not making this up.

Our "no confidence" group caused so much turmoil that we were without a board for several months in 2023. If we hadn't had a manager whose contract ran through the end of the year, we'd have been in real trouble. Nothing got done except for paying bills for services that were under an existing contract (eg. water). If our insurance policy had expired during that time, we'd have been uninsured. Stories like that ought to scare the cookies out you.

And then things got more exciting. We organized ourselves and held an election, and some members of the "no confidence" group were elected. Unfortunately they had more self-confidence than knowledge or skill. The folks they replaced weren't hitting it out of the ball park, but they weren't doing anything terribly wrong either. The new crop did do things wrong such as failing to comply with our CC&Rs and state law. They didn't understand how money works. They made at least one big blunder that took a chunk out of our finances that we're still feeling the effects of. Oh, and the president was a dictator and a bully. He forced out one board member and then refused to replace the person (because he didn't want to be outvoted, among other things). Fortunately he resigned after the news about the blunder began to surface since that was his baby.

Long story short, be careful what you ask for, you may get it. Big ideas and good intentions are not substitutes for knowledge and skill. And we all know where the proverbial Good Intentions Road can wind up.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Well, Aleta, you cna see how Cathy's HOA "handled this." In addition,over the years many posters have asked about land Ching a real.and other the Cathy's my recollection is they didn't go through with it, or tried an couldn't meet all of the many requirements.

I know November seems a long ways off, but it gives you and a group who want change the time to learn your HOA's Bylaws and eventually launch a campaign to elect the ones your group wants. I Know an election doesn't remove an entire Board, but it's a good start.

By th way, your subject line says " Removing your HOA," but. what you meant was removing the board of directors.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Ugh-typo: Should have typed Many posters have asked about recalls...

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