Condo Media - October 2022 - 38

Condominium Ownership
Enforcement Policy
PROCEDURES FOR THE IMPOSITION
OF FINES FOR RULE VIOLATIONS
Sample Rules
1
FIRST VIOLATION
A violation notice/warning will be sent to the unit owner stating the
reason for the notice, date of the violation, and the rule that has been
violated. It will also state that additional infractions will result in fines
and that if such violation is of an ongoing nature, that it must be cured
within a certain time frame.. A statement that gives the violator the
opportunity to be heard in front of the board of trustees if she or
he feels wrongly accused will also be included.
2
SECOND VIOLATION
A violation notice will be sent to unit owner (same as for first violation).
The owner's account is charged a set fine.
3
THIRD VIOLATION
A violation notice will be sent to unit owner (same as for first
and second violation). The owner's account will be charged an amount
double the initial fine. After three violations, the violator will be
referred to the board of trustees for further sanctions. All allegations of
violations must be in writing and signed before the board will act.
4
SUBSEQUENT VIOLATIONS
All subsequent violations will result in the additional doubling of the
fine until the board of trustees has imposed further sanctions.
5
PERSISTENT VIOLATIONS
If the violation is of an ongoing nature, each day for which same persists
shall be deemed a new, subsequent violation. The board may also
require the unit owner or violator to post a bond or other security
device to ensure future compliance.
6
BOARD DISCRETION
Under appropriate circumstances, the board may, in its
reasonable discretion, alter the fine schedule set forth above.
38 CONDOMEDIA October 2022
MAKING CHANGES TO
THE RULES, REGULATIONS,
POLICIES, AND PROCEDURES
A careful review of the association's Master
Deed, Declaration of Trust, CC&Rs, bylaws,
rules, regulations, policies, and procedures
will also bring to light items that have
outlived their merit in the smooth operation
of the co-owned property. There are many
issues that the board of the self-managed
association will need to address in the governance
of the community that will demand
updating of the rules. Making changes to
the condominium documents is possible,
but is controlled by achieving the approval
of a substantial percentage of unit owners,
generally over 50 percent, most often
75 percent, and in some cases 100 percent.
Amending the documents can be a costly
administrative task that is often unsuccessful,
despite the time and energy spent in
attempt to gather unit owner support.
Rules and administrative policies and
procedures generally just need board approval
and do not need a vote of unit owners,
but these are also more difficult to rely
upon should litigation ensue. Still the board
may be called upon to deal with making
changes for the following reasons:
l When Rules Are Outdated
Sometimes if the governing documents
were penned in the early years of coowned
property, they may contain rules
and regulations that are seen as outdated
by the unit owners, especially those who
have recently purchased their homes.
Often, older condominium documents
prohibit doing business out of a unit.
During the pandemic, many businesses
abandoned office space for working
from home. Commercial vehicles were
frequently prohibited from parking
spaces, but many unit owners now use a
company vehicle that may run afoul of
this type of regulation. Major objections
about restrictions on installations of hard
wood and resilient and non-resilient
flooring options can lead to flagrant violations
of the regulations. The documents
may have restrictions on exercise equipment
in private dwellings. And the list
of rules that prohibit currently accepted
practices continue to grow.
Condo Media - October 2022

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