Does the Condo Board Have to Answer My Question at a Meeting?

M.W. from Hartford County writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

My son lives out of state and wants me to represent him at board meetings. The board told me they don’t have to answer my questions because I’m not the owner, even if I get an affidavit stating my son’s wish for me to represent him. Please advise how to resolve this.

Mister Condo replies:

M.W., believe it or not, the Board doesn’t have to directly answer any questions from you or any other unit owner at Board meetings. Unit owners should contact the Board or Property Manager outside of a meeting to ask questions, make complaints against fellow residents or unit owners who have violated rules, or make a request for information that is public record to unit owners. For further clarification, I reached out to an attorney who practices community association law, who offered the following:

“Boards never have to answer questions from anyone during a board meeting, even from unit owners. Unit owners have the right to comment during board meetings, but nothing in the law entitles them to transfer that right to someone else. Your son can give you a proxy to vote in his place at unit owner meetings, but the board is correct that he can’t force them to answer your questions at a board meeting.”

So if you or your son who is the unit owner has a question for the Board, my advice is that you commit it to writing and submit it directly to the Board or Property Manager for their consideration at a future Board meeting. All the best!