Do you like the way your condo association is run? By serving on your condo board, you can help guide the association and ensure that it’s managed properly. Whether you want to help your community prosper or fix problems that you’ve encountered, this can be a great way to achieve your goals, but it’s also a big responsibility. To avoid missteps, it’s important to learn how to serve on a Hawaii condo board effectively.
What Is a Condo Board?
A condo board is a group of elected, volunteer board members who act on behalf of the condo association to manage finances, oversee maintenance, set and enforce community rules and represent the unit owners. Certain board members may have specific roles, such as the president or treasurer.
Although the day-to-day tasks of property management and maintenance are generally carried out by a third party that the board hires, the board is responsible for making decisions and providing oversight.
Condo boards typically hold regular meetings (for example, once a month or once a quarter), and board members may have specific duties outside of these meetings. Condo board members do not receive payment for this work.
Your Responsibilities as a Condo Board Member
According to Hawaii’s Condominium Property Regimes Owner Rights and Responsibilities, “Being elected to an association board does NOT mean board members can do anything they want. Board members can only do what the law and the association’s condominium governing documents (declaration, bylaws, and articles of incorporation) authorize them to do. Board members should be cautious about exercising “implied” or “inherent” powers which are not clearly stated in the law or condominium documents.”
Even though condo board members aren’t paid, they accept considerable responsibility. If board members do not fulfil their duties, the condo community may suffer. For example, issues might not be fixed in a timely fashion, resulting in property damage, and community morale may falter.
Conflicts between condo associations and unit owners are fairly common, and they can lead to lawsuits. If the condo association is sued, individual board members may be named in the lawsuit, and they can be held personally liable.
Common allegations against board members include breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, misconduct, self-dealing and violation of the condo association’s bylaws. Board members can avoid these allegations by learning the rules, following them and acting in a transparent and prudent manner that focuses on the good of the condo community.
How to Be an Effective Condo Board Member
- Review state and local laws. Condo boards are subject to state and local laws. In Hawaii, this includes Hawaii Revised Statute § 514B-107. Watch for changes to the law and check for any additional laws in your city or county.
- Review and update the condominium’s governing documents. This includes the declaration, bylaws and articles of incorporation. You must follow these documents. It’s also important to update them regularly to keep pace with changing building codes and community expectations.
- Remember that you represent your fellow unit owners. Act in the best interests of the condominium community and listen to feedback from unit owners. You can’t always please everyone, but you can do your best to be fair and to put the condominium first while adhering to the condo rules and state laws.
- Enforce rules consistently and universally. If rules are not consistently and universally enforced, it may erode the condo association’s authority. For example, if you let one condo owner park an RV on street even though it’s against the rules, and then you fine another condo owner for building a structure on their patio, your inconsistency could lead to legal challenges.
- Be transparent. For example, if you ever have a situation that could be perceived as a conflict of interest, disclose this and recuse yourself from relevant decision-making. Otherwise, you could be accused of self-dealing.
- When in doubt, consult legal counsel. If you ever encounter a situation that could result in accusations of wrongdoing, consider securing legal advice before taking action.
- Maintain D&O insurance. If you are ever sued for your actions on the board, Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance can cover your legal costs. Find out if your condo purchases a policy for its officers or if you need to purchase your own policy individually.
Do you need help securing condo insurance or D&O insurance? Find an agent.