L.M. from Pennsylvania writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Our development has been condos since 1985 and this issue has never arisen before. Can a non-resident owner be on the Executive Board, and now that the issue has arisen, can the board discuss and adopt and vote on a resolution to clarify that a non-resident (investor; never resided in development) cannot be a board member as such positions are open to residents only?
Mister Condo replies:
L.M., I am not surprised to learn that this question has not come up before. Without reviewing your condo documents, I wouldn’t have any way of giving you a definitive answer. I will say that the first place you should look is your Declaration and By-laws. Typically, there is a section on governance and who is and isn’t eligible to hold a director or Board Member position. If your documents are silent on the subject, you would then turn to your state laws for common interest communities and/or corporations as those apply to your condominium. It is not uncommon to have an ownership requirement for a director to serve. A requirement to reside in the association is far less common and truly unfair as there are many times when an owner is not a resident. All owners, regardless of whether they reside in the condo or not, have a vested interest in the well-being of the community. If the Board passed a rule requiring residency that violated any non-resident unit owner’s rights, don’t be surprised if the association gets sued. I would advise speaking with the association’s attorney before taking any such action. Good luck!