HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - May 26, 2023
Published: Fri, 05/26/23
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HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - May 26, 2023
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We thought this reader's question would yield pretty straightforward answers.
In this week's tip, we explain how wrong we were.
Here's a breakdown of the question: The bylaws say each co-owner must provide evidence of ownership of a unit to be eligible to vote at any meeting of the association; and each unit shall have a designated voter who shall vote at meetings of the association.
Some have interpreted this to mean the designated voter of a unit is the only one who can hold a director position; others disagree.
Some have interpreted this to also mean that only one owner per unit may hold a director position; others disagree.
Some have interpreted this to mean that if two owners from one unit are directors on the board, they should only have one vote; others disagree.
Read on for how our California expert would answer each question.
California—"In California, we've literally gotten rid of nearly all provisions that address qualifications to serve on the board," says Sandra L. Gottlieb, a founding partner of SwedelsonGottlieb, which represents California condominiums, planned developments, and cooperatives. "But to serve, you have to have owned the property for a year and meet four possible qualifications—and this would be controlling over your recorded CC&Rs.
"This one provision allows a board to add to the election rules that no two persons who own one unit can serve on the board at the same time," she explains. "If that's not in the documents or the election rules since the law changed two years ago, I don't think you can enforce having an association prohibit that.
"But in any event, we have to remember that we're looking for diverse opinions to protect the association," advises Gottlieb. "And can you really get that if you have two people from the same household serving on the board? I don't think so.
"California law also states that no matter what your rule on board service, there's only one vote permitted per unit," she explains. "The first vote in is considered the vote for the unit. The second vote doesn't count.
"If the two votes came in at same time on the same date, the election inspector has the option to cancel both ballots," states Gottlieb. "And finally, if you've permitted two members from one unit to serve on the board, each board member gets a vote regardless of whether they live in the same unit."
Other states have different analyses of each of these questions. Our new article, Which Condo/HOA Bylaw Interpretation Is Correct Here?, https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Which-Condo-HOA-Bylaw-Interpretation-Correct-Here.cfm, runs through several states to show you why you need input from an expert in your own state for you own answer.
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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