DawnaD (Florida)
Posts: 3
Posts: 3
Posted:
Can married couples both be on the Board of Directors?
Our homeowners association is in NW Florida.
Dawna
Our homeowners association is in NW Florida.
Dawna
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Started by DawnaD • 7 replies • 3924 views
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RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067
Posts: 5,067
Posted:
Generally, no. There is usually only be one vote allowed per lot. So if both are on the Board and they own only one lot then there would only be only one vote.
BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820
Posts: 2,820
Posted:
to expound a bit on Roger's answer: generally, no, they can't be because board members must come from the ownership of the homes in the association. And typically, a single home gives up 1 (one) single "member" of the association, or one vote. Thus, either the husband or wife could be nominated and elected to the board, but since you can only nominate one "household/member" once, only one could serve. However, if the married pair owned two lots/homes, then yes, they could both be elected, one nominated from ownership "a" and the other nominated as the owner of home/lot "b".
EdR (Texas)
Posts: 170
Posts: 170
Posted:
I think theoretically this is correct and understandable. Our board has had both spouses on it before because the bylaws do not state that they cannot, and the board only allowed one of them to vote on any matter. I think they did this because of not enough interest in being on the board. But what is questionable to me and I consider unfair, is this: Our bylaws state that a person who is NOT A HOMEOWNER in our association can be on our board of directors. When or if such a person were to do so and they voted, which it doesn't state they cannot, that seems ridiculous to me because why should they have a say and more power than a half of an owner? Does anyone else have that "non owner" deal in their bylaws?
EdR
EdR
RogerB (Colorado)
Posts: 5,067
Posts: 5,067
Posted:
Ed, your example of allowing a non-owner on the Board is common in some of the older Declarations. The developer, who wrote the Decs, provided this language so they could place their non-owner friends on the Board during their control. You could amend your Declaration and get rid of this.
LuciusD
Posts: 139
Posts: 139
Posted:
Roger, I again disagree on this topic.
The one vote per lot concept applies in votes involving the membership and not the board.
Consider this case: One person owns five lots/units. In a membership vote he is normally entitled to five votes. If that person is elected to a seat on the board he gets one vote; not five. The voting rule on a board is one vote per seat.
It is not such an old (obsolete) idea to allow non-owners to sit on boards. I can show you bylaws of a Denver community just over six years old by one of the largest developers in the that allows any natural person, not necessarily an owner, to sit on the board provided at least a majority of the board are owners.
I think you are misapplying the one vote per property concept when you try to apply it to boards.
How about this? Two spouses own jointly three properties. In an owners vote they can jointly cast three votes. Could they be directors? And if so, how many votes would you assign to them in a board vote?
The one vote per lot concept applies in votes involving the membership and not the board.
Consider this case: One person owns five lots/units. In a membership vote he is normally entitled to five votes. If that person is elected to a seat on the board he gets one vote; not five. The voting rule on a board is one vote per seat.
It is not such an old (obsolete) idea to allow non-owners to sit on boards. I can show you bylaws of a Denver community just over six years old by one of the largest developers in the that allows any natural person, not necessarily an owner, to sit on the board provided at least a majority of the board are owners.
I think you are misapplying the one vote per property concept when you try to apply it to boards.
How about this? Two spouses own jointly three properties. In an owners vote they can jointly cast three votes. Could they be directors? And if so, how many votes would you assign to them in a board vote?
LisaS (Illinois)
Posts: 341
Posts: 341
Posted:
Two. One each.
In their capacity as a "Board member' they are entitled to one vote each.
In a general open membership vote as an "association member" they are granted one vote for each of their lots.
Unless of course documents state otherwise.
In their capacity as a "Board member' they are entitled to one vote each.
In a general open membership vote as an "association member" they are granted one vote for each of their lots.
Unless of course documents state otherwise.
JudyS2 (Virginia)
Posts: 1
Posts: 1
Posted:
Unless your documents state that married couples cannot serve together on the Board or a committee it is perfectly legal. As for the vote, a membership vote is entirely different than a Board vote. There is normally only one vote per household for electing Board members. This would not apply to a Board member right to vote on behalf of issues before the Board.
Many couples enjoy serving their communities and normally contribute a lot of time and effort on behalf of the community.
Many couples enjoy serving their communities and normally contribute a lot of time and effort on behalf of the community.
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