Top 10 Non Compliance Weaknesses
-
The
Association is unaware of its own responsibilities as
stated in the governing documents. Research the association
governing documents to see what is typically authorized
in the documents.
- What
specific maintenance responsibilities
does the Association have for common elements,
easements, or the lots owned by the members?
- What
rules and regulations does
the Association have the authority to publish concerning
the governance of the common
areas (for instance, pool rules)?
- The
Association is not in compliance with its own rules or
responsibilities as stated in the governing documents.
- For
instance,
is the common area of the Association being maintained
at the same standards imposed on the members?
- Has
the
board established and communicated those standards
to the management company, members, and vendors who
may be responsible for maintaining those standards?
- There
is selected enforcement of the governing
documents. Most
documents provide that the board
shall have the right to interpret the provisions
of the governing documents and to
establish clarification on terms such as:
- "reasonable"
- "use
a reasonably
high standard of care"
- "substantially
detract"
- "public
or
private nuisance"
- Inconsistency
exists as to when noncompliance notices are sent out
and what follow through action is implemented to remedy
the noncompliance. Take the time to create a covenants
compliance process that can be implemented to address:
- Sequence
of the notifications
- Tone
and content of the noncompliance
notices
- Fine
system procedures
- Appeal
and hearing process
- Legal
action
- Design
Guidelines are not established to create consistency
in the architectural review process and decisions. Design
guidelines set the standard for the community and
establish critical criteria for common homeowner
projects (paint colors, landscape material, exterior
ornamentation). By creating these standards before
the first homeowner moves in, it is easier to pursue
architectural prohibitions up front.
- Inspections
are not conducted as scheduled or so infrequently
that the violations are not being handled on a timely
basis. When
establishing the covenants compliance process, take
a tour around the community and get a sense of what needs
to be inspected, how long the site inspections will
take, and based on that review establish the frequency
of the inspections. In addition, put the inspections
of the common elements on a regular schedule.
- Inspections
are usually conducted at the same time, same day
each time. Try staggering the days or conducting
the site tours at hours outside the normal operating
times to observe different situations. For instance,
if street parking is an issue, it may be a good idea
to approach that task on weekends or at nights to catch
those violations when they most frequently occur.
- Recurring
noncompliance problems are not remedied, causing
the issue to continue over time from one board to another
board. Address these issues head on with the
board members and gain closure on the issues. Allowing
the problems to spread out over time only makes it
harder to enforce new violations that are discovered.
- The
Board establishes rules and regulations but fails
to communicate the policies to the member. Always
send out the final approved document to the members
and have any new documents available for member meetings.
- The
noncompliance process is not updated on a timely
basis. Are
there annual reviews of all the governing documents,
rules and regulations? How about soliciting the
help of member volunteers to review the process for
noncompliance and seek input from the membership?
Mark
Lewis, CMCA®,
AMS®, PCAM®
President / CEO
Community Archives
Tucson, AZ
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