Every HOA has a few documents that define how the residents of the community should operate. The group of board members usually sets these. These documents contain information about board elections, board meetings, rights, and obligations of the residents, etc. These rules are established upon the development of the HOA.
However, members may feel they should introduce a new rule or amend an existing one at some point. Changing rules is not easy and is quite a lengthy process. Moreover, you must be legally compliant with the process to make sure no resident raises conflicts. To make sure the process remains completely legal and to avoid mistakes, you can hire the help of Chandler HOA management companies.
Steps to change HOA rules
Step 1: Determine whether the change is needed.
Before sending out a proposal, make sure the community needs the amendment, and you have a valid and rational reason to do so. Altering the documents because of a minor reason can take a heavy toll on the community’s finances.
Step 2: Sending the proposal.
Once the board comes to a decision, they must send a proposal describing the details. This proposal must include the rule being amended or introduced, the reasons behind the action, and the differences it will make. This proposal should be sent out at least a month before the next board meeting.
Step 3: Discuss opinions in the board meeting.
After sending the proposal, a board meeting must be held to allow board members and residents to voice their opinions. The board members must be open to answering the queries of the homeowners regarding the amendment.
Step 4: Voting.
Everyone should get a chance to vote for or against the decision. Fair voting should be held in the HOA, including the board members and the residents. This voting may be held using secret ballots or any other way suggested by the board.
Step 5: Approval of the amendment.
After the voting, the board should count the votes and determine whether to make the change or not. The majority number of votes decides the final move. What counts as the majority may be stated in the governing documents. If the major number of voters support the amendment, the decision gets approved.
Step 6: Sending notices of the rule approval.
If the rule gets approved, the board must send out a notice to all the board members and residents of the community. This notice must include the details of the amendment. If changes occur in the CC&Rs, the board must record it with the county recorder’s office. However, bylaws and other rules do not need to be registered.
