Wife is Condo Owner; Can Husband Serve on the Board?

J.L. from New Haven County writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

We have a Condo unit occupied by a husband and wife but the wife is the owner alone. Can the husband serve as a board member?

Mister Condo replies:

J.L., you’d be surprised how often this issue comes up at condos. It is not uncommon for only one person in a marriage to own a condo, usually for tax, inheritance, or estate planning reasons. Of course, if the spouse of the owner is active in the community, most residents just assume the couple jointly owns the unit. Laws vary on this subject from state to state with some states allowing a non-stock holding person to serve and some states prohibiting the same person from serving. I answered a similar question in September of 2012. Check out my answer here – https://askmistercondo.com/can-a-spouse-of-a-condo-owner-serve-on-the-board/

Your condo documents very likely address the issue of who is eligible to attend and vote at your meetings and who is eligible to serve on your Board. For the most part, Board candidacy is limited to unit owners. However, in the case of a husband and wife, if the wife has no objection to her husband’s service on the Board, I think most associations would allow it, provided that the wife does not also seek a seat on the Board. All the best!