Condo Media - December 2021 - 35

IMPEDIMENTS ON ASSESSMENTS
AND THE ABILITY TO TAKE LOANS
So, for example, understanding the
documents requirements as to voting
on issuing assessments or taking
out loans for needed maintenance
and capital improvements is an
important step.
In some cases, the board is hamstrung
and may not impose assessments
or obtain a loan to make repairs without
the vote of owners holding a certain
percent of the benefi cial interest in the
association. Boards should review their
condominium documents to ensure
that the board has autonomy to raise
funds for repairs with limited owner
approval or no owner approval. Alternatively,
the condominium documents
may include a provision that permits
the owners to veto an assessment by a
certain percentage vote, as opposed to
requiring their affi rmative vote prior
to imposing an assessment.
Such provisions can be problematic
as the documents will often impose a
duty on the board to repair, maintain,
and replace common elements, but
without the ability to obtain the funding
necessary whether it be by raising the
common fees or by taking a loan, the
board will be impeded in planning
and performing its duties.
In the case of Champlain Towers,
it appears that push back on spending
ultimately led to various board resignations
and infi ghting, which made it
diffi cult to undertake repairs.
Attempting to amend the documents
giving the board the powers they
need to obtain funding to plan and
address issues is something that
should be considered.
A LESSON LEARNED
FROM THE PANDEMIC
Besides the obvious horrifi c effects
of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting
regulations put in place by the governor
and local boards of health concerning
social distancing and gatherings
posed many issues for associations.
For example, how to comply with the
meeting and voting requirements that
are prevalent in most Massachusetts
condominium governing documents.
While questions on electronic voting
have been around for many years, the
pandemic brought the issue of whether
condominium boards could hold board
meetings virtually and vote via email.
Additionally, one of the most common
questions was how to hold required
annual elections of board members
or hold annual unit owner meetings
given the restrictions on gathering.
Many governing documents in the
trust and/or by-laws have provisions
that state something to the effect: " There
shall be an annual meeting of the owners...written
notice of the meeting stating
the place, day, and hour shall be given... "
Additionally, the meeting provisions
usually reference that voting shall take
place in person or by proxy at a meeting.
Often, the meeting provisions for board
meetings state that the board may vote
without holding a meeting, but only if all
members agree in writing. We all know
that all members do not always agree.
While many argued that due to
the pandemic and the resulting impossibility
to hold in person meetings,
work arounds made by boards such
as holding meetings via Zoom and
like platforms should not have been
subject to challenge. While possibly
true, the better approach would be
to amend the documents to allow for
virtual meetings and electronic voting.
Certainly, now that restrictions on
gatherings in Massachusetts have been
lifted, boards should propose such
amendments to the documents and follow
the amendment provisions therein
to attempt to obtain the required
percentage of unit owner approval.
In sum, understanding the various
provisions in the association's existing
documents and taking action to
possibly amend out hindrances to the
smooth operation of the association
is an important tool in planning for
the future.
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Condo Association Boards
To discuss how we can assist your Condominium
Association, contact Andrew Rowe at (978) 573-1489
or email him at arowe@northshore-bank.com.
northshore-bank.com |
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December 2021 CONDOMEDIA 35
Condo Media - December 2021

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