Do you have to pay condo fees if condo does not follow guide lines?

Answer 1

Yes.

Apparently, your question implies that using your leverage by not paying your assessments will change the behaviour of the board. This is not a valid assumption.

Read your governing documents to better understand your options.

Your monthly assessments pay the bills for operating the community. The bills may include basic utilities, maintenance and upkeep of the buildings and the grounds, master insurance policy premium payments and contributions to your reserve accounts.

If you don't pay your assessments, your association can pursue you to recover the debt, and may file a lien on your title, deny you services or access to amenities, or as a last resort, sell your unit to recover the money you owe.

Your board is legally liable under the laws of your state to operate your (non-profit) corporation and govern your private democracy according to the guidelines written in your governing documents.

Attend board meetings and be prepared to identify specific sections of your CC&Rs, By-laws and Board Resolutions that your board violates. Then, write a letter to the board pointing out their violation and request that the matter be handed at the next board meeting.

At the subsequent board meeting, request that the board vote to either operate according to the guidelines, or continue to operate in violation of them. Request that the vote be taken and recorded in the minutes.

This way, you'll begin to build a paper trail of the board's violations. Most board members soon realize the gravity of their violations and begin following the guidelines. Otherwise, you can rally similarly affected owners and by way of a vote of owners -- your governing documents state the percentage required -- remove the board and vote new members into the positions.

Answer 2

Your attempt to correlate your obligation to pay your assessments with the board's responsibility to follow the governing documents is not a valid correlation.

Read your governing documents to confirm your obligation to pay your assessments. As well, you can notify your board of their violations of your governing documents, by way of a formal letter.

In your letter, reference the section of the governing documents that you believe the board is violating, together with a description of your evidence of their failure to 'follow the guidelines'. Request an entry on the next board meeting agenda, and time to present your case. Ask the board to vote to either follow the guideline or to continue to violate the guideline.

If the board's practice continues, you can take a copy of the board meeting minutes to an association-savvy attorney, who will help you educate your board as to its irresponsibility to operate the association according to your governing documents.

Include your association manager in your letter, and if possible, the association manager may become your ally.