10 Things Every HOA Board Member Should Know
Most HOA and condo association boards in the Estes Valley are run by volunteers who agreed to help their neighbors. Serving on the board comes with real legal responsibilities, and these are the ten points we cover with new board members.
1. You owe a duty to the association. Board members must act in good faith and in the best interests of the association as a whole, even when that means disagreeing with a neighbor or a friend.
2. Colorado law sits on top of your documents. The Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA) applies to most associations, including many which were formed long before it was passed, and where it conflicts with your declaration or bylaws, the law usually wins.
3. Know which document says what. The declaration creates the community and binds the property. The bylaws run the association. The policies and rules handle day-to-day matters. When you want to change something, the first question is which of the three it belongs in. See Association Declaration, Association Bylaws and Association Policies.
4. Your association must have certain written policies. Colorado requires every association to adopt policies on collections, conflicts of interest, meetings, enforcement and fines, records, reserves, adopting rules, resolving disputes and reserve studies. If yours cannot find them, that is the place to start.
5. Board meetings are open meetings. Owners have the right to attend board meetings and to speak on agenda items. The board can meet privately in “executive session” only for a short list of subjects (e.g., legal advice, a specific owner’s delinquency or personnel matters), and it cannot adopt rules in that closed session.
6. Owners can see the records. Owners have a right to inspect and copy most association records, and the association has to respond within a set time. Keep good minutes and organized files from the start.
7. Collect dues carefully. Colorado requires associations to follow specific steps before sending an owner to collections (e.g., written notice and an offer of a payment plan), and it limits when an association can foreclose. Skipping a step can cost the association the money it is owed.
8. Fines need fair process. Before fining an owner, the board must give notice and a chance to be heard, as the association’s enforcement policy requires. A fine imposed without that process can be thrown out.
9. Disclose your conflicts. If a decision affects you, your family or your business (e.g., a contract with a company you own), say so and step out of the vote.
10. Protect yourself and the association. Make sure the association carries directors and officers insurance, keeps reserves for the big repairs everyone knows are coming, and gets advice before a dispute turns into a lawsuit.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Every association’s documents are different, and a board should speak with an attorney about its own situation.