Quick and Easy Guide to Decoding Your Governing Documents
The Big Risk of Using Outdated Governing
Documents
While governing documents have a hierarchy, they're all subject to an ultimate
authority: the law. Remembering this important detail ensures that your board
always checks relevant portions of your documents against state and federal
statutes and updates them accordingly. Failing to follow this process as new laws
are created not only causes your governing documents to lose relevance and
effectiveness, but you and your board could also face severe repercussions as a
result.
"Often board members refer to outdated documents, which can lead to serious
consequences. It is important that board members understand the legal basis for
community management and its hierarchy: federal law (e.g. ADA, Fair Housing
Act) is first, state is second and governing documents are third. Federal law and
state law continually change, while the documents generally remain the same.
Even though it's easy to simply refer to the documents, the board members
should be aware that there may be a new federal and/or state law which
supersedes the documents. For example, an association may have a rule that
prohibits satellite dishes from being installed on a home within a community, but
there is a federal (FCC) law that supersedes this prohibition. If the board fails to
comply, they could find themselves in legal trouble. The board's role is to exercise
due diligence and also follow applicable laws. If there's ever a question about
what takes precedence, your management company can serve as a resource, but
ultimately it's up to legal counsel to interpret the law."
— Melissa Robertson, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM®
Vice President of Operations, Associa Sierra North
