Q. I live in a mid-rise condominium and we recently experienced an incident in which a unit owner accidentally plugged the garbage chute with his garbage. In response to this incident, the condominium board president locked all garbage chutes in the building (on each floor) and mandated all unit owners walk their garbage bags down to the first-floor garbage room. Does the board president have the authority to take such action?
A. No single board member has the authority to take actions that require approval of the board at a properly called board meeting. The board of directors of the association as a whole does have the authority to administer the common elements as it deems appropriate, which could include locking off the garbage chute room. However, preventing the use of garbage chutes due to a single clogging incident is a questionable decision and should be reconsidered. This is an example of “cutting off your nose to spite your face”.
Q. I live in a condominium association and several board members were up for re-election at the annual meeting that was supposed to be held in November 2021 per the association’s by-laws. However, the board chose to not hold the annual meeting despite repeated requests from the unit owners. Do the unit owners have any recourse to hold the annual meeting?
A. Condominium by-laws require that annual meetings of the unit owners be held yearly for the election of directors. The by-laws also set the date to hold the annual meeting. Condominium boards must comply with the provisions of the by-laws as a part of their fiduciary obligations. If the board fails and/or refuses to call the annual meeting, besides possible breach of fiduciary duty claims, per section 18(b)(5) of the Condominium Act, 20% of the unit owners may sign a petition calling for a unit owner meeting to held, which in this case, would be the annual meeting.
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Q. I am a unit owner in a small condominium association where the association owns and rents the basement unit. Are unit owners entitled to transparency regarding leasing disputes or issues that arise related to the board-leased unit?
A. Pursuant to section 19 of the Condominium Act, unit owners are entitled to a copy of all contracts to which the association is a party. A written lease is a contract that unit owners are entitled to inspect and obtain a copy of. However, section 19 is not broad enough to entitle a unit owner to demand a list of any leasing issues or disputes that arise regarding the leased unit. Of course, unit owners are free to attend open board meetings where all decisions that relate to the board-leased unit must be made.
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