For those of you who love to bake, you know that carefully following a recipe to bake the perfect loaf of bread is a must. While I’m not a plumber, I suspect these fearless folks don’t leave home without their trusty plungers!  For those of you who serve on the board of directors of your homeowners’ association (“HOA”), you know that your tools of the trade are the governing documents of your association. Right?!

As a director for your HOA, you have the fiduciary duty to comply with and enforce the governing documents of your association. How can you fulfill this duty if you aren’t familiar with or don’t have your association’s governing documents available at board meetings? The short answer is – you can’t. However, it’s never too late to get prepared to govern! Here are the documents for your HOA you should locate, review, put in a binder and take to meetings:

 

  1. Articles of Incorporation;
  2. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions;
  3. Bylaws;
  4. 9 Responsible Governance Policies (more commonly referred to as “SB 100 Policies”);
  5. Architectural Guidelines (sometimes also referred to as “Design Guidelines”);
  6. Rules and Regulations;
  7. Resolutions and Policies that have been adopted by your board.

While you certainly are not required to commit these documents to memory, it’s essential to become familiar with them so that you can easily refer to and comply with applicable provisions when necessary.