Live in a home governed by a condominium, co-op or homeowner’s association? Have questions about what they can and cannot do? Ryan Poliakoff , an attorney and author based in Boca Raton, has answers.
Question: Our HOA has an amendment that was recorded in 1998 that purports to give the power to make further amendments to the board of directors, without the input of the owners. The problem is that this 1998 amendment was never voted on by our owners, and the declaration would have required membership approval in order to be amended this way in the first place.
When you look at the amendment itself, there is no mention of a vote by the owners. This issue recently came up before an administrative judge in the context of the revitalization of our covenants. One of our directors testified that a membership vote was held in 1998, and I testified otherwise, but the judge believed the director and ruled that the amendment was valid.
We want to remove this illegal amendment. At least 20% of us signed a petition to remove the board but the board refuses to add the question to the agenda for our upcoming membership meeting. We have tried to fight this, but the association’s attorney always outsmarts us. What can we do? Signed, R.C.