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June 20, 2007
MAINTENANCE STANDARDS - WHO DECIDES WHAT THEY SHOULD BE?
In a simple question presented to me, the reader writes: Is the Board of Directors allowed to make rules regarding maintenance of the common area?
The simple answer is "Yes". Of course, it is critical to review the governing documents because there could be language that is significant to this issue. In general, the Board may not set lesser standards than called for in the documents. Often though, the Board can set higher standards. Sometimes there is clear language that indicates Board discretion is the final word.
In some cases owners complain that the Board has set standards that are too high. There are probably not many cases where this argument would prevail, unless the Board is inconsistent in the standards that it applies to all owners.
In other cases, residents may complain that the Board is either not enforcing standards or has set standards too low. Property values are an important thing for Boards to consider, as it is very common that either the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, or the CC&Rs for the Association require the Board to preserve or enhance property values.
Then, the question arises, may the Board regulate standards in the areas of exclusivity to members, including requiring homeowners to maintain their own area, and to certain standards?
The answer is probably yes, but it really depends on what the CC&Rs or regulatory documents say.If the areas are visible from the streets, common area or other properties in the development (like by the neighbors), there probably is some language allowing a certain amount of control over what is placed in and how the areas are maintained. However, if the resident is the only party that is subjected to the sight of the area, and is fully responsible for maintenance, and there is no potential threat to the surrounding properties by what the resident might do (short of criminal activity like planting marijuana), then there are less likely to be controls.
Posted by Beth Grimm at June 20, 2007 8:03 PM