Do the Governing Documents By-Laws supersede State Regulations or do State Regulations Supersede the By-Laws? I'm having a dispute with my association where they basically have told me that a section of the by-laws regarding Insurance Claims and disbursement to the Unit Owner for Repairs is outdated (since they were written in the 70s), but these are the legal documents that are provided in a resale package of purchasing a Condo. Should the association have provided different documents in the Resale Package to the Purchaser?
Connecticut.
Jane
4/15/2019, 1:19:50 PM
bylaws must be in compliance with state, local, and federal laws. they cannot over ride state law
ray
4/16/2019, 6:53:04 AM
Very good Jane you finally got one right!!! lol
Check with a local attorney to see what your state law says about when and if your documents go out of regulation. State of Florida enacted the MARTA act(MARKETABLE RECORDS ACT) which says all documents become invalid after 30 years unless they are re-ratified by the ownership at a duly called meeting.
And Jane is 100% correct as far as STATE LAWS ALWAYS SUPERSEDES unless there is a written waiver in the state law such as the statement ( or as the documents require). Sometimes there is such a statement in the State Law in which you would rely on your documents overriding State law, BUT NOT ALWAYS ON EVERY ISSUE
Guy
4/16/2019, 7:28:53 AM
Jane and Ray are right. I have personally been sued by my board for my pickup in the driveway and they lost. One of the judges rulings which there were 3 was the unreasonableness of the bylaw. Basically, it just said a truck with no definition of truck and others were parking large vans and SUVs in the driveways. My truck wasn't a work truck as the bylaw was written for that issue in the seventies. A lot of associations don't want to spend money on changing things in their documents because of the cost. Our Bylaws are being updated this year because they have never been updated.
Paul Dirkes
4/16/2019, 7:45:42 AM
We also have outdated By-Laws and go with which ever is stricter in regards to this or that.
Wolfgang NW FL
4/16/2019, 10:03:30 PM
Our association lost $ by not updating our DOCs to keep track with FL state code. Our DOCs say on foreclosure bank pays 6 months back condo fees/spl assessments - but FL Condo laws were updated a couple of years ago to allow for 12 months back fees. Cost association $6k - the state law didn't overrule our lesser cost so said our lawyer.
Associations need to be made aware of changing state statutes and amend their DOCs. It often takes an owner vote. In our case, it was the fault of our management company for not bringing it up at all. They kept telling us we'd get a full year back fees! We could easily have amended out DOCS withing that 12 month period if we had known!
I think you'd have a decent chance of enforcing what is in your DOCs. I'd consult an attorney -- if it is worth the $ paying legal fees.
ray
4/18/2019, 9:11:12 AM
Well stated Wolfgang, Florida has the MARTA act...marketable records act...which id documents are not restated or revised in a 30 year period the are automatically dead, not enforceable. and the association becomes null and void
But as far as I know only Florida has the Marta act enforced.
All documents must be enforced equally and cannot be obscure they must be realistic and equally enforced across the board
Answers (6)
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Jane