E.M. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Our water system needs to be fixed. The Board of the Directors makes a construction project in the garage area. The Management just simply posted that all the vehicles needed to be removed before the starting date of the construction without any meeting. After that certain date, all the materials on the deeded garage would be disposal. Do the Board of the Directors have the right to “order” the garage owners to move away from their deeded parking? Can the garage owners ask for the reimbursement of the maintenance fee during the unused period on the parking space?
Mister Condo replies:
E.M., that is a most unfortunate occurrence of events. It sounds like the Board did not do an adequate job of communicating the needs of the association before the project got underway. Deeded parking is owned by the unit owner, not the association. The association has no more right to simply commandeer your deeded parking than they do to take over neighboring land that they do not own. Compensating you for the use of your parking space may be one remedy available to you. However, suing the Board after the fact may hardly be worth your time or effort. I would make a point of finding out what the Board can and cannot do moving forward so this doesn’t happen again. If all of this work was done to update or maintain the community’s water system, I would think most residents would have willingly given up their parking for the duration of the project as the need for clean water trumps the need for a parking space. However, just as you must observe association rules, the Board must observe unit owner’s rights. I hope you can enter into a meaningful conversation with the Board to make sure they do not traipse all over the rights of unit owners like you when the next project comes up where they may need to store equipment or supplies in privately owned parking spaces. If they continue, a lawsuit may be in order. All the best!