Homeowners associations are governed by the HOA board. The board is in charge of making sure the community is well-kept and that property values remain high. Within the HOA board, there are also different officer roles — each with its own set of responsibilities. What are the different HOA board duties? Let’s find out.
What Are the Main HOA Board Duties?
Living in a homeowners association offers many benefits. Often, HOAs come with convenient services such as snow removal, garbage collection, and security. They also provide amenities such as parks, gyms, and clubhouses. These help the community maintain high property values. However, these things cannot manage themselves.
To ensure everyone enjoys the perks of HOA living, the board must take charge of the community. What are the specific HOA board duties? Here are the main HOA board responsibilities you can expect from your board of directors.
1. Legal and Governing Document Compliance
Homeowners associations are subject to several state laws, especially if they are incorporated as non-profit organizations. Moreover, they must follow the regulations outlined in the community’s governing documents. The board is in charge of ensuring compliance with both of these to avoid liability.
2. Rule Enforcement
HOAs are governed by rules that ensure harmony and maintain the community’s aesthetic appeal. Common examples of rules include parking rules, pet restrictions, and architectural standards regarding fence heights and exterior paint.
Every member of the HOA must follow these rules. The HOA board is responsible for enforcing the rules by issuing violation notices and penalizing offenders. This ensures the community is orderly and preserves the HOA’s aesthetic appeal.
3. Common Area Maintenance
Nobody wants to live in a run-down neighborhood. To preserve property values, the board is responsible for maintaining all the community’s common areas like sports facilities, gyms, and pools. They must also maintain all shared spaces, such as private roads, facility roofs, and shared buildings.
4. Conflict Resolution
People conflict all the time, especially when they live in the same community. To maintain peace, the board must resolve any disputes that arise within the community. They must mediate conflicts and prevent them from turning into legal cases involving law enforcement.
5. Financial Management
Homeowners associations need funds to maintain common areas, enforce the rules, and make sure the community runs smoothly. The board is in charge of ensuring the HOA is financially stable and can make all its payments. They prepare the annual budget, create financial reports, collect fees, and manage the reserves.
6. Working With the HOA Management Company
HOA board duties include working with the HOA manager or management company. If a community outsources its operations and financial management to a professional, the board is responsible for coordinating, consulting with, and working with them.
Individual HOA Board Member Duties
The HOA board may act as one unit, but it will also have individual officer roles with different responsibilities. This divides the labor and ensures everyone with certain skills and experiences is placed in the most appropriate roles.
What are the different HOA board member responsibilities? Here are the most common roles of HOA board members.
1. HOA President
Much like an organization president, the HOA president duties revolve around leadership. The president represents the community to all other parties. They work closely with HOA managers, vendors, homeowners, and other board members to ensure the community is heading in the right direction.
On a day-to-day basis, HOA presidents preside over board meetings and facilitate the board’s decision-making process. They also sign legal and financial documents such as vendor contracts and checks.
2. HOA Vice President
Not all homeowners associations will have an HOA vice president. If they do, though, the HOA vice president duties mainly revolve around substituting for the president in their absence. The vice president must know how to conduct all the president’s duties, including presiding over meetings and facilitating decision-making processes within the board.
However, the HOA vice president only has these authorities if the HOA president is unavailable. Otherwise, most HOAs place the vice president in charge of other duties. For example, the vice president often heads major committees such as maintenance or architectural review committees.
3. HOA Secretary
HOA secretary duties revolve around meetings, documentation, and communication. More specifically, they work closely with the president to create meeting agendas for member and board member meetings.
In addition, the secretary is in charge of keeping all of the community’s official documents. These include meeting minutes, governing documents, contracts, and membership lists. The secretary also takes minutes and ensures a quorum during meetings. In addition, the secretary is usually responsible for sending notices to the members about meetings and other HOA business.
4. HOA Treasurer
Financial management is vital for any homeowners association. That’s why the HOA treasurer is an incredibly important position. HOA treasurer duties typically include overseeing the association’s financial operations. They often take the lead when it comes to drafting the community budget with the finance committee.
Furthermore, the treasurer is in charge of monitoring the community’s income and spending, collecting fees, issuing payments to vendors, paying taxes, and preparing reports. They are also responsible for overseeing the financial audit at the end of each fiscal year. Often, they also serve as the head of the budget or finance committee.
Are HOA Board Members Paid?
Typically, HOA board members are volunteers and are not paid for their work. In fact, many states prohibit board members from receiving compensation of any kind. However, some states and homeowners associations do allow compensation, so it’s best to review any relevant state laws and the governing documents before coming to a conclusion.
On the other hand, reimbursing the board for accrued expenses is an entirely different matter. The board isn’t expected to spend money while performing their duties, so HOAs typically reimburse them for HOA-related spending. However, the board must submit receipts of these expenses to the treasurer for reimbursement.
In addition, try not to confuse the HOA board with the HOA manager. While the HOA board members are volunteers, HOA managers are often paid professionals hired by the board. They are paid by the HOA to handle the community’s operations.
What Are the Legal Duties of the HOA Board?
HOA board members have a fiduciary responsibility to the homeowners association. Hence, they have certain legal duties to uphold, including the following:
- Care. The board must carefully make informed decisions when conducting business. They must use all the available information and do proper research before deciding on community matters.
- Loyalty. The board must act in the community’s best interest. They must act in good faith and refrain from letting their personal interests interfere with their work.
- Scope of Authority. The board must act within its scope of authority. They cannot abuse their power or use their position to act on things outside their responsibilities.
Understanding HOA Board Duties
The HOA board is foundational to the success of a planned community. Both the members and the board of directors must be familiar with the duties of the board to ensure the HOA runs smoothly. This way, they know what to expect from the board and when to hold them accountable if they’re not fulfilling their responsibilities.
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