When an HOA meeting has been called to vote on amending something in our CC&Rs, or when this vote is part of an annual meeting, and the required percentage of homeowners needed to make a change is not obtained, can votes be acquired after the meeting ( in some cases days, weeks or months after that particular meeting) and be added to what was taken at the meeting and counted towards the total vote? Or are the votes taken at the actual meeting all that can be counted?

ANSWERS:

 

In Michigan, the 2015 Revised Non-Proift Corporation Act provides the needed guidance regarding the timing issues and voting. If the Association’s Articles  of Incorporation or Bylaws provide for ballotting without a meeting, then the ballots may contain a provision allowing ballots to be counted up to 90 days after the date on which the Association provides the ballot to the members.

Edward Zelmanski
Zelmanski, Danner & Fioritto, PLLC
Attorneys at Law
44670 Ann Arbor Road, Suite 170
Plymouth, Michigan 48170
(734) 459-0062 Fax: (734) 459-5313
ezelmanski@zdfattorneys.com

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Homeowner association by-laws typically provide that an amendment to the CC & R’s be made by the vote of a certain percentage of the homeowners “cast in person or by proxy at a meeting of the homeowners duly held for such purpose.”  As such, the requisite number of votes must be cast in favor of the amendment at the meeting.  Votes cannot be accumulated thereafter outside of the meeting or at subsequent meetings.

Some by-laws, however, provide that, in lieu of a meeting, the amendment can be signed by the requisite number of homeowners needed to adopt the amendment.  If this is the case, signatures can be gathered on the amendment at a meeting and thereafter over a period of time

John H. Gettinger, Esq. 
Shapiro Gettinger & Waldinger, LLP 
118 North Bedford Road, P.O. Box 320 
Mount Kisco, New York 10549-0320 
Phone: (914) 595-1468 
www.kiscolaw.com