HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - May 27, 2022
Published: Fri, 05/27/22
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HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - May 27, 2022
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In this week's tip, we discuss a recommendation that you just eliminate pesky quorums.
The topic arose after we saw a recommendation to California condos and HOAs to simply amend their governing documents to eliminate quorum requirements for elections. Can you do that, whether you're in California or another state? Why would you?
Jasmine F. Hale, CCAL, a partner at Berding & Weil based in Walnut Creek, Calif., who advises condos and HOAs throughout California, says it's possible for California condos or HOAs to amend their governing documents to eliminate quorums for elections. In fact, she advises clients to do just that so they actually have regular elections, even if turnout is small.
"We certainly recommend the removal of quorum requirements for director elections," she says. "That's the most common election—most communities have them annually. And it's the one that creates frustration and issues when associations are unable to make quorum, and then the board appoints the board that's already there to continue serving. Or people drop off the board, and the board just appoints new people.
"And that can go on for years," states Hale. "Then an activist group says, 'You haven't had elections for 10 years!' The board might explain that it tried to hold elections, but things can be misconstrued."
Hale isn't talking about removing quorums for everything the association does. "At least for elections pertaining to special assessments, the statute sets what the quorum is," says Hale. "And for other types of elections, such as a vote to amend the governing documents, we recommend having a quorum. For those, the documents themselves will often set what the approval requirement is."
What about the quorum of board members needed to be present to conduct association business? Hale says no. "The corporations code in California establishes a quorum for board votes," she explains. "A community could impose a higher quorum for board votes, but it couldn't impose a lower one."
We admit it: California isn't always representative of the law in other states. So can you do this if you're not in California? Find out what experts in three other states say about this option in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4517.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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