Epsten, APC

Delegate voting systems are used by communities that have a master and sub-associations or a large number of separate interests divided into neighborhoods. The representative for each sub-association or neighborhood (i.e., the delegate) acts as the liaison between members and the Board. The governing documents provide for the election of delegates, their duties, and meeting requirements. Delegates meet to cast votes on behalf of the members they represent. Election/voting requirements of Civil Code section 5100 et seq. are not applicable to delegate meetings and voting.

Member meetings include annual (e.g., election of directors) or special meetings (e.g., recall). An association’s bylaws generally state the time, location, frequency and quorum requirement for member meetings. Corporations Code section 7511(a) requires between 10 and 90 days’ notice of a member meeting, but Civil Code section 5115 changes this to at least 30 days’ notice for the ballot period. At member meetings, the members (not the board) vote on the items of business.

A “member” of the association managing the common interest development is the owner of the separate interest. (Civ. Code §4160)

Pursuant to Civil Code section 5210(b)(6), membership lists containing all members’ contact information consisting of names, property addresses, mailing addresses, and email addresses, except for those members who have opted out of being included on that list.  The membership list must be made available to members who are requesting the membership list for a purpose reasonably related to their interests as a member.

The association’s written historical record of actions taken by the board of directors at meetings. Generally, minutes need not contain anything except the date, time and location of the meeting, the attendees, and the official motions, but some associations add some amount of the discussion in support of the motion. Minutes are to be preserved forever as the association’s permanent record. See Records.

A term generally applied to associations of tenants within a mobilehome park or community which does not qualify as a common interest development. While there are some common interest developments wherein the dwellings are mobilehomes, many mobilehome communities are either rental communities or converted, resident-owned communities which are not common interest developments (typically because they lack recorded CC&Rs or maps.)

See Fines

As a condition to granting a home loan for a property within an association, most mortgagors will require the CC&Rs to contain mortgagor protections, such as a statement that a lien on a first mortgage has priority over assessment liens and the mortgagor’s right to notice and approval of certain matters, including the termination or abandonment of the association.

The parliamentary procedural means by which the board of directors takes action at a meeting. Once a member proposes a motion, it must be seconded and approved by a majority of members present in order to become effective. Approved motions should always be noted in the meeting minutes. See Parliamentary Procedure.

One vital aspect of association life is maintenance duties. These duties are generally described in the association’s CC&Rs. The CC&Rs will generally describe what components the association and owner, respectively, are responsible for maintaining, repairing and replacing. Many associations also have a maintenance matrix that clearly identifies components and who bears the responsibility.