You have probably run across at least one thing in your lifetime that you could neither live with nor without. We have one of those seeming paradoxes in community associations. It is called compliance.
The governing documents of most community associations, primarily the declaration, bylaws and rules and regulations, outline specific taboos (restrictions), and charge the board with enforcing them. It is the duty of a board, often through a management company, to enforce the provisions in those documents. The typical enforcement policy usually begins with the issuance of a violation letter. Many homeowners passionately object to these letters and either take them personally or view them as harassment. Community association boards and managers have invested a lot of time and money in their effort to make the letters sound friendly, but they are seldom taken as such.
It is the responsibility of the board to oversee the compliance process. The first step in this process is to review the governing documents to identify the specific deed restrictions. The board cannot create rules that contradict the recorded governing documents, but many documents provide for a process by which the board may add rules and the owners may revise provisions in existing documents.
Selective enforcement is rare, but does rear its ugly head from time to time. There are two basic forms of selective enforcement. The first is sending violation letters to some of those with a specific violation and not others for the same or similar violations. The second type of selective enforcement is picking some restrictions to enforce while ignoring others. In regards to this type of selective enforcement, an attorney that I have been working with for years says it simply, “Enforce or amend.” If a provision in the governing documents no longer is relevant, take the time to pursue the process to delete it. Selective enforcement causes hard feelings and can end in legal action with its resultant costs.
Two common misconceptions about compliance are:
- Compliance inspectors are sinister people who delight in finding violations. Inspectors are actually hard working people doing a difficult job. Every time they find a violation, they have to write, print, fold, stuff and mail a letter. They don’t get paid by the letter.
- The object of the compliance process is to earn money for the association. Although many associations do receive income from fines, few of them make it a line item on the budget (and none should because it conveys the wrong message to owners).
The object of the compliance process is to drive proper behavior in the community as defined by the governing documents. Compliance is a very important issue in most community associations and is something that each board needs to understand completely. It is definitely a double-edged sword. As a board member, consider both sides of the blade, ensuring fairness and reasonableness, while precluding litigation. You aren’t allowed to live without compliance, so you need to find a way to live with it.
Provided by AssociationTimes.
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