This article originally appeared in the January 2025 edition of Quorum.
Every January, you inevitably stumble across the traditional (and sometimes overly personal) trend of people reflecting on the lessons they have learned over the past year, new goals for the upcoming months, and all about the new them. Surprise: your common ownership community should do something along the same lines. Let’s break down what this actually means and might look like.
Most, if not all, condominiums, homeowner associations, and cooperatives have rules, resolutions, and policies in place covering anything from architectural guidelines, maintenance standards, and enforcement procedures to collection policies, noise rules, pet policies, leasing resolutions, and more. Adopting these rules, resolutions, and policies is only the first step. You also need to make sure you review them annually, even if only to refresh your memory of what they entail.
Why do you need to review everything annually? Well, for several important reasons:
- To enforce them. Board members have an ongoing obligation to enforce their association’s governing documents, including any rules, resolutions, and policies that are in place. Reviewing these documents annually ensures that you are familiar with their requirements and standards, and that you are enforcing them uniformly and as needed.
- To actually remember them. There are so many moving parts to administering common ownership communities that sometimes, believe it or not, you can completely forget you have a rule, resolution, or policy in place covering a certain topic – this may especially be the case in communities that have dozens of policies adopted over dozens of years. Make sure you are aware of, and familiar with, what is in effect!
- To make sure they are relevant. Rules, resolutions, and policies are often adopted to address a specific need, concern, or question facing the community. As the community’s circumstances change, so should your rules, resolutions, and policies. Reviewing your documents each year ensures that these documents are still relevant and necessary. If they are not, then you should consider revising them or revoking them altogether.
- To confirm they are (still) legally compliant. Every year we have new legislation that goes into effect concerning different facets of common ownership communities. You should make sure that your rules, resolutions, and policies reflect and account for these changes in law, or at least are not contradicting what is in place.
- To double-check you have everything you need in place. Sometimes, your intention behind a rule, resolution, or policy may be different than its actual effect. Reviewing the documents you have (and how you have enforced them) ensures that your intent and outcome are aligned.
In a nutshell:
Review your community’s rules, resolutions, and policies annually, make sure they still make sense for your community, confirm that they are consistent with current laws, and ensure that they are being uniformly and consistently enforced. If needed, work with your legal counsel to make any necessary changes.
Read the full article in the January 2025 edition of Quorum.
Nura Rafati is a community associations attorney at Lerch, Early & Brewer. For more information, contact her at 301-657-0730 or nrafati@lerchearly.com.