Dtermining the Number of Votes Needed to Amend Declaration

Hi Folks,

I apologize if this topic has been discussed previously. I did a search and didn't find an answer to me question.

Our Declaration states that 90% of members need to be in favor of any amendment. The same document states that one remedy the Association has in dealing with delinquencies is to remove the owners' right to vote.

With that in mind - we have 138 homes in our community. Five members are delinquent. If we wish to amend our Declaration, do we need to get 90% of the members who are current on dues, etc. Or do we need to get 90% of all members.

Thank You

Peny,

The required % is based upon the exact wording in the CCRs. If it says "90% of members eligible to vote", that means those who are delinquent and not eligible to vote are not counted when computing the %. But, if it says "90% of the members" that means regardless of whether a member is delinquent and ineligible to vote his vote is still counted toward determining the % required.
It might be helpful if you posted the exact wording in your CCRs.

As Roger suggests, you may want to check out PA HOA statutes to see if this % has been lowered and also check out the exact wording.

Everett,

I don't know that any states have statutes which have considerably lowered the required % to amend the CCRs, but I do know there have been bills in the AZ legislature that have "tried" to do this. There is a bill this session that would only require a 2/3 vote of those voting, except if the CCRs call for a smaller % that is at least 50% of those voting, the smaller % would apply. The required quorum for the meeting is only 30%. This means that an assn with 1,000 members would only have to have 300 present and of those 300, it would only take 201 votes -- or only 20% of the membership -- to pass the amendment. There was considerable opposition to this bill so it was amended to only apply to master communities. It was held in Committee of the Whole back in April, so I'm sure it's dead now.

that's a MAX of 2/3 or lower when called for by the Declaration of CC&Rs.

Everett: Here's a Maryland law that was passed in 2008.

House Bill 1129: Allows the governing documents of homeowners associations created before January 1, 1960 to be amended once every 5 years by a 2/3 vote of homeowners.

Looks like your association may not be old enough. HB 1129 is a specialized law aimed at helping older associations that required 100% of eligible voters to amend bylaws. There was racist language in bylaws which, although now illegal, was an embarrassment.

Jeanne

Jeanne,

Thanks! That might be enough of an opening to persuade the legislature to expand it to all HOAs, or at least, make the cut-off date more recent. The big hurdle will be curtailing the requirement that all lenders approve the amendments in writing.

Jeanne,

Thanks again. I have seen their web site before and will consider it.