Q: The officers of my HOA claim they are the Board of Directors despite never having been elected.
The HOA has no bylaws: no directors have been defined and approved, no officers defined and approved. There has never been an election of Directors. There is no voting procedure documented. The nominal officers claim to be the Board of Directors. Is this claim valid? The Board of Directors meeting minutes identify no directors. Is this legal? There is no documented authorization for the distribution of any assessments collected. There is no documented authorization for the collection of annual assessment amounts. Is this evidence of malfeasance?
A: Virginia Law has soecific requirements for the creation and recordation of a condominium association or homeowners association. It is highly unlikely that the situation you describe is factually accurate. Get a lawyer to run a title search and read the Declarations, which are required to be published to you before your contract to buy your property was final and binding. If your neighborhood association pre-existed the homeowners association laws, which is common in the Washington metro area but quite uncommon in Reston, then yours is a voluntary association with no actual powers. Self-appointed community leaders may be influential, but they are also legally powerless. What you need is a title search and a legal reading of your legal rights and duties.
A: The answers to each of your questions would be found in the Bylaws of the HOA. If you live in a condominium, the laws in Virginia require the HOA to have bylaws. You may want to begin with a complaint at the Commonwealth Attorney's Office for the city or county where the condo is located.
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