Y.G. from Cook County, Illinois writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Our condominium’s Board of Directors wants to spend 50% ($260,000) of Master Association’s budget ($520,000) for repair and renovation of our clubhouse. Do they need to call the condo owners meeting to approve such large expenditures? What max percentage of the budget they can approve for renovation without meeting? What percentage of owners during the meeting is needed to approve such budget?
Mister Condo replies:
Y.G., the Board of Directors have large discretion on expenses as outlined in your condominium’s governing documents. Further, if these items were planned expenses and properly reserved for over the years, they may not need any additional approval. However, if there was no plan in place or Reserve Funds available for the expense, your governing documents likely do not allow the Board to make such a large purchase without a vote of the homeowners. In other words, if they are creating a Special Assessment or taking out a loan on behalf of the association, they need to follow the rules for doing so, which very likely includes a vote of the unit owners. Without knowing the full details, I cannot give you a better answer than that. The good news is that your association will have a freshly remodeled clubhouse to enjoy soon. All the best!