Condo Association Management Blog

You might want to check your by-laws to see if someone who is in arrears can even be on the board. What we do in my building of 112 units is we include in the meeting minutes the unit numbers of those in arrears. I don't believe you're permitted to list their name but unit number yes.

CHECK WITH ATTORNEY before doing anything like posting names. Aside from that, in Florida a Director is off the Board after 90 days in arrears. Catch 22, how do you know that a Director is in arrears, Catch 23, how do you announce that she is off the Board? I don't know the answers to those questions. It is not up to the Board, or to an association's documents, but rather it is state law. (718)

It's not clear from your questions if you are asking if it's OK for the board to know who is late or for the board to let all owners know. 
 
I would highly recommend having all discussions about late fees and such in board's executive session, not open. Minutes from executives sessions are not open to other owners and they can't see them. 
 
You are dealing with a sensitive privacy issue. You have to be extremely careful if you choose the route of making this information public. For example you need to have a policy at which point this information becomes public and it has to apply equally to everyone. 
 
On top of that I don't think this is an effective method to collect. In large associations with many owners one might simply not care. In smaller more personal associations where everyone knows each other this can be very counterproductive as the person who is late will become defensive and will go out of this way to justify his position.

This is a slippery slope. You can't harass members by publishing their personal debt problems but do read your by-laws carefully for things that you can do. Our savvy property manager puts pink notices on the doors of the people in arrears to make sure they get the information. Other homeowners can see this and we have had no legal challenges to this method. We also provide a list of serious accounts (by unit # only) at the two annual meetings we hold. Again, no legal challenges. We did have one homeowner on the board several years ago who was always late in paying dues but justified it by saying the association was making extra money on fines. Sure enough, this attitude later produced a dead-beat homeowner who is declaring bankruptcy and will walk away without paying over $4,000 in dues (this dosn't count the large amounts already written off). If your by-laws don't stipulate that a board member must be current on dues then start a campaign to get that written into the by-laws. You might also check the by-laws to see if homeowners can come into the management office to review the board's documents. If they can remind them at the annual meetings. Minutes from the executive portion of the minutes, however, cannot be viewed but the rest of the documents will provide enough information on the past due accounts. BTW, our assn is in the state of Washington so make sure your state allows using these methods that we use before doing it.

Our management company (California) sends monthly reports of income and expenses, including the list of owners and account balances, to all owners in the complex. Everyone has information on who is in arrears already.

Kimara, I would suggest you talk to an attorney about this. You might get yourself in hot water for doing this, especially in CA. Individual account balances are considered confidential and should be treated as such

To clarify my question, here is the suggestion which I am about to make to my BOD: 
 
 
"Here's one for the good of the community. In an election for the Board of Directors, under each profile note the current level of financial responsibility by one of three designations, ranked from best to worst: 
 
1.All fees or fines are current. (No money is owed the Association.) 
2.In arrears (for fees, fines or work done) with signed payment agreement. 
3.In arrears (for fees, fines, or work done.) with no payment agreement. 
 
Please note that it is legal to post names of owners who are in arrears but is usually not done because it does not help to obtain payment. This suggestion would not use the amount owed, so as to greatly reduce the risk of error and possible dispute. It would show us the small minority who don't pay their fees, fines, or charges for work done (like electrical boxes) on time.  
 
It would expose those owners who probably ought not to be placed in a position of fiduciary responsibility, thereby allowing voters to make a more prudent decision than in the past. This information would help to eliminate from consideration those who are not responsible enough to manage a budget of over three quarters of a million dollars annually. 
 
Two designations for arrears are suggested to emphasize that a person who has negotiated a payment agreement is still not current, but is still in arrears and should not be considered equal to a member in good standing, which would be an affront to all those who struggle to meet their adult obligations.  
 
All of us have a right to this information so why not make it easy for us and provide it in the profile. It will make for a better community by encouraging more judicious ballot casting. 
 
P.S. By-laws state that anyone of legal age can run for the BOD, except that one member of the board must reside in the state. 

Ross, I feel this question is better answered by an attorney. By providing this information you are influencing how people would vote. There are limitations on what boards can do when it comes to elections. 
 
I would highly recommend that you consider amending your bylaws to included a restriction that people that are behind on their dues by more than three months cannot serve on the board.

If it can be legally required, Jeff's idea of including payment status in election materials is excellent. However, in Florida, the one official page campaign flyer is written by the candidate and may not be edited. Again,requiring arrears information may not be legal. As Dead Eye said above: CONSULT WITH YOUR ATTORNEY.

Our bylaws state that a list of delinquent owners can be placed in a conspicuous place in a common area. We are a small complex and one delinquency can easily have an adverse effect on all unit owners. I am glad that our bylaws allow this. In addition, I do think it helps curb delinquency. 
In fact, our city government annually publishes a list of all delinquent property owners (taxes) in the city newspaper. They state it helps curb delinquency as well.

As has been stated, first check your Master Deed and Bylaws. Policies and procedures vary by association and state. the majority of associations i have studied provide for the announcement (recordings for minutes) of payments in arrears at called board meetings, where the treasurer is required (or should be required) to provide a quarterly budget report, which normally includes the units in arrears, which if your association has a directory, immediately identifies the person. And, if called for in your MD/BL a written record may be entered into the minutes if the matter has been turned over to a collection agency (as provided in the MD/BL of a number of associations).  
 
 
 
Finally, It should not matter that the person in arrears is a board member, potential board member, or simply a member of the association. HOA policies should apply equally to all members.

what happens when we cannot find enough people to run for the board in a condo in massachusetts

Our delinquencies are turned over to a collections agency (90 days or more delinquent). Once there is a lien or judgement in place, it is public record for the world to see.