Are the rules and policies new or have they always been in place? What about their enforcement? Has the enforcement of these policies been applied with consistency? Do the members know what is going on? Do they know who to reach out to with their questions? Let’s begin first with the enforcement of rules.
The rules intended to enforced
Once the rules are agreed upon and adopted by the association, the Board has duty to the members to make their enforcement policies crystal clear. Examples of common problems with respect to clarification are often the best teacher; therefore consider the following examples.
Emphasis by way of illustration will weigh more toward homeowner’s associations because the difference in the responsibility of maintenance. In an HOA, owners typically maintain their home and yard where as the maintenance and control of the portions of a condominium that are visible to the public are controlled by the association.
Based upon many years of experience, the rules prevalent in many community’s documents are likely to be confusing. One rule may be very precise and well defined. Others are often vague – for example: one set of HOA doc’s call for yards to be maintained in A1 condition. Others state that roofs are to be substantially free of mildew. Condominium and Co-op docs often call for neutral colored window coverings and other condominium docs do not tolerate storage on porches and patios.
Therefore, clarification is the first step required of the Board. Owners cannot be expected to comply with board expectations if those expectations are not crisp, clean, and precise. If this seems confusing or overwhelming, it need not be. Read on.
