Understanding Responsibilities of an HOA Board and HOA Management Company
A homeowners association or HOA is primarily established to ensure that the homeowners and the community it serves thrive and grow. And in order to achieve this goal, by-laws and covenants are put in place. These by-laws and covenants basically establish rules and regulations that all homeowners must follow for as long as they are a part of the HOA community.
Similarly, the by-laws generally enumerate the HOA’s functions and the HOA Board’s responsibilities, including things they can and cannot do whether on behalf of the HOA or as a Board member/homeowner.
That said, the HOA Board’s primary duty is to ensure that the association is fully functional and serves the best interest of the community. This is where an HOA management company may be considered. Sometimes though, the responsibilities of the Board and the management company overlap even if they shouldn’t, which means the management team is sometimes expected to perform duties that only the Board should.
It is therefore important to clearly define responsibilities of the HOA management team in terms of their assistance to the Board.
Responsibilities of an HOA Board
- Enforce rules and covenants
- Create and/or amend policies
- Intervene, investigate, and resolve disputes and arguments among homeowners
- Investigate and resolve complaints
- Approve or reject requests (for repair or maintenance, for example)
- Serve as the HOA’s Architectural Review Committee for requests for architectural changes on a property
- Make all decisions related to the HOA, homeowners, and the community in general
Responsibilities of an HOA management company
- Assist in the HOA’s day-to-day functions
- Handle communications between homeowners and the HOA
- Recommend vendors, suppliers, and contractors
- Ensure contractors and other outside services are fully insured to protect the HOA from liability
- Sign checks on behalf of the HOA (optional, and up to a certain amount only)
- Coordinate with the HOA for maintenance or repair requests from homeowners
- Ensure homeowners are complying with rules and covenants, as requested by the HOA
From the above, you can see that the HOA management company’s primary role is to ease the burden of the HOA and help where and when needed, and according to “services” defined in the management contract/agreement. Decision-making and other fiduciary duties of the Board members will solely be handled by the Board itself.
Do you wish to learn more about homeowners’ associations, HOA management, property management, or other related topics? Please feel free to browse our blog page. You may also visit the community news page for more information on California homeowners’ associations.