Question: Do homeowners have the right to exam Architectural Review Committee Minutes and Application approvals or is this considered confidential information?

Answer: There are only a few things that are confidential: collections on delinquent members (for libel reasons), personnel matters, contracts under negotiation and litigation. Architectural committee business doesn't fall under these categories and, indeed, it's important that their deliberations be open to owner scrutiny to ensure that decisions are consistent and adhering to association guidelines.

Question: I bought a house in a homeowner association and learned that previous Boards have modified the governing documents significantly. For example, our governing documents declare that the roof replacement, repair, and maintenance are the responsibility of the Association. A previous Board voted that the Association should only replace the roofs, do maintenance once every 5-10 years, and are not responsible for repairing leaks. Also, the documents limit fines to $100. The Board voted to double that amount. Is it really okay for the Board to do these things?

Answer: The Board may enact policies that are in keeping with the governing documents but cannot change their meaning. Changing their meaning (amending) requires an appropriate vote of the owners indicated in the governing documents.

If the association has the responsibility to maintain roofs, that includes leaks. It makes no sense to do otherwise and is a breach of the association’s maintenance responsibility. If fine amounts are specifically mentioned in the governing documents, only the owners can change it by either amending the fine amount or removing the fine amount entirely and allowing the Board to set the fine level.

Question: We have a person who wishes to be legal counsel. Does he have a vote on the Board? Also, we have a homeowner who wants to be on the board but cannot attend meetings. Can the governing documents be amended so he can vote by proxy?

Answer: Legal counsel is not a board office. And whether or not you should take this person up on the offer depends on if he has an expertise in HOA law. This is what the board needs and it's better to pay an expert than to take free bad advice.

Unless the governing documents allow directors to use proxies, and I've never seen any that did, a director must be present to vote. But practically speaking, you should not elect somone that is cannot attend board meetings. An absent director simply cannot be kept informed of the issues.

For more information on this subject, see www.Regenesis.net.

Published: June 5, 2002

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Richard Thompson owns Regenesis, a management consulting company that specializes in condominium and homeowner associations. He is a nationally recognized expert on HOA management issues. Regenesis publishes The Regenesis Report, a monthly newsletter for HOA boards, developers and managers. To subscribe, go to Regenesis.net. He can be contacted by email at .