A.K. from Lee County, Florida writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
We have a few positions open for election in the community. I have come across information that our current board president and treasurer co-own a unit together (10% President & 90% Treasurer). The treasurer also owns a different condo in the community, but the current president does not own another unit. Does this disqualify the president from being on the board? I look forward to hearing from you!
Mister Condo replies:
A.K., if I understand your question correctly, you claim that the current Board President is only a 10% owner of one unit in your association. I am guessing that your governing documents do not specify what percentage of a unit must be owned to be eligible to serve on the Board, only that a person must have an ownership interest in the association to serve. If that is correct, then the President fills that requirement. If, on the other hand, your documents state that Board eligibility is determined by a higher percentage of ownership, then the President may not be qualified. It all boils down to what your documents say on the matter. In my experience, it typically does not matter if they own 1% or 100%, they are still considered an owner and, therefore, are eligible to serve. That being said, I would think it would be fairly easy to defeat a 10% owner in an election. The opponent would simply point out that the President doesn’t have nearly as much “skin in the game” as a full-fledged owner. Good luck!