Boards sometimes ask us: What information are we required to provide to owners?

As lawyers, we dutifully review their governing documents and the applicable statutes and provide a response. However, seldom should this be the end of the analysis because…

In every association, a percentage of the owners assume and fervently believe that YOU (directors, officers and managers) are personally out to get them. They are convinced that their association board, working in concert with the manager, is secretly plotting to deprive them of their hard earned money and personal freedoms. They will claim that the board operates in complete secrecy at undisclosed locations under cover of darkness, away from prying eyes of owners.

Not all boards are created equal. There are undoubtedly boards that deserve any suspicion heaped on them by the owners. However, a vast majority of boards operate in good faith and at all times with the association’s best interest in mind. These boards can become frustrated when accused of secretly plotting against the association they have so graciously volunteered to support.

There will always be that percentage of owners that distrusts and sometime actively combats their association leaders. It cannot be avoided. Transparency, above and beyond what the law might require, is a key component in neutralizing these detractors.

Associations should consider utilizing a newsletter, community website, social media, owner forums, community social event or bulletin board to help increase communication with owners on a regular basis. Boards should look for opportunities to post meeting minutes, agendas, notices and communicate an invitation for involvement by the owners.

If your association has a new or creative way of communicating with or engaging with owners, we’d love to hear about it.