Condo Media - October 2024 - 35

DISSEMINATION OF
INFORMATION TO UNIT OWNERS
A large part of being a successful board
revolves around strong communication
between the board members and the
unit owners. Boards should be transparent
with information whether it is positive
or negative. Concealing information
can unnecessarily call into question the
board's intentions and create distrust
between the owners and board members.
That being said, boards must be careful
with the information they provide to
owners to make sure they do not disclose
private information as described below.
Generally, communications must be in
compliance with the notice provisions of
the association's governing documents
and should be directed to unit owners,
not to individual occupants, tenants,
or guests. Unit owners are obligated to
provide their association with up-to-date
information regarding their mailing
address. Boards may rely in good faith
upon the most recent written notice
provided by the owner. If an owner fails
to provide an updated address, an owner
may be precluded from claiming they did
not receive notice.
DUTY TO SAFEGUARD SENSITIVE,
PERSONAL, FINANCIAL, AND
PRIVILEGED INFORMATION
Board members come into possession
of endless amounts of information.
While owners are entitled to access
the association's books and records
regarding general operation and management,
certain categories of sensitive
information should be safeguarded and
protected from disclosure. These categories
include (1) information regarding
unit owner accounts, delinquencies, and
individual assessments; (2) information
regarding past and present employees;
and (3) personal and medical records.
COMMUNICATIONS
BETWEEN BOARD MEMBERS
AND/OR MANAGEMENT
In August 2024, Massachusetts Gov.
Maura Healey signed legislation relative
to electronic meetings and voting in condominiums.
In addition to simplifying
the process for conducting unit owner
meetings and voting for unit owners, the
amendment also ratifi ed how boards
may conduct regularly scheduled or
special meetings. Boards may now offi
cially conduct meetings by telephonic
or video conference call, or by interactive
electronic communication. The new law
will most certainly make the operation of
the condominium signifi cantly easier on
boards. However, board members should
be aware of the potential risks that come
with conducting condominium business
through electronic communication.
Specifi cally, there are four potential
risks: (1) Private emails could become
public; (2) Email communications
could violate open meeting laws;
(3) Email messages could be subject
to discovery requests in a lawsuit;
(4) Board members may inadvertently
waive attorney-client privilege.
We have all hit an ill-timed reply-all or
sent an email to the wrong person with
the same fi rst name. In addition, we have
all misinterpreted a message, perhaps
taken out of context. In most cases, the
error is dismissed with a simple apology.
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Condo Media - October 2024

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