Condo Q&A

Condo association has not been charging fees in an equatable fashion

Written by stephen polinsky | Wed, May 11, 2011 @ 12:02 PM

I am part of a small condo association of 14 units in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We have only two buildings. The condos were built a little over 20 years ago. Since they were built, the condo association has not followed the master deed percentages when assessing dues, someone along the way came up with a different set of percentages that were never legally agreed upon by the owners and the master deed and bylaws were never legally amended to reflect the new percentages. I am a new owner that has discovered the fact that I am being overcharged according to the master deed, but other owners want to say that precedent rules. Because the condo association has done it differently for a number of years, does that negate the legal document (master deed and bylaws) given to me when I purchased my condo? Has any other condo association had problems determining whether a legal document that had not been followed for a number of years could/should be followed?