D.H. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Who do I call when too many people are living in a 2-bedroom unit in my condo complex and the Board won’t do anything?
Mister Condo replies:
D.H., enforcement of the rules and regulations are the responsibility of the Board of your condo. If your rules and regulations define how may people may reside in one unit and you are aware of a violation to that rule, you should contact the Board. Whether or not you should call them is another story. For most associations that have Property Managers, a phone call, email or letter to the manager is usually all that is required to report the violation. If your association has no manager, then a letter to the Board is in order. At their next scheduled meeting, the Board should review your violation report and take whatever action they deem suitable. Keep in mind that the Board is not under any obligation to take any action. In fact, there are many instances where Boards have decided not to enforce select rules of the association for a variety of reasons. If the Board doesn’t take action to your satisfaction, you have a few options. First is to elect new Board members who are more committed to enforcing the rules of the association. Second would be to bring suit against the Board for not enforcing the rules. Neither solution is particularly simple but that is really all you can do, D.H.. Good luck!
Condo Board Chooses Not to Enforce Rules: https://t.co/0SOmcNMQtS
Mr. Condo’s answer is pretty much correct. but with a couple tweaks. First, I would add that associations also have limited resources, so it is usually not possible to enforce each and every rule, all the time. Second, I would remind everyone that condominium and HOA documents typically provide that owners, as well as the Association, have standing to pursue enforcement. Too often, this is lost in the belief that the Assn is responsible for every issue. Rather than sue one’s own Assn, this owner may consider directly pursuing the issue with their neighbor.
Boards often exercise discretion in their collections policies by offering extended payment plans or other measures to give owners who become delinquent in their payments a chance to catch up. This is a reasonable and appropriate use of the board’s authority to respond flexibly to some situations. But any special treatment the board offers to one delinquent owner should be available on the same terms to all owners in similar circumstances, and it should be structured in a way that preserves the association’s lien priority, ensuring the association’s ability to collect back payments if the owner remains in default.
This issue has serious Fair Housing implications. Any association seeking to establish or enforce occupancy limits should check local codes and consult with counsel prior to taking any action