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Master Deeds and Bylaws Master Deed and Bylaws for Condominiums. A condominium growth starts as a individual property owned by the developer and transitions to a collection of individual properties or specific units. even then, ( i ) the fundamental description and character of the overall property remains significant to the rights of the whole owners and ( two ) since the unit …
Sep 06, 2020 · Any master deed or bylaws drafted prior to 1978 should be immediately reviewed and amended to reflect numerous changes in Michigan and federal law. Moreover, in 2001 and 2002, significant amendments were made to the Michigan Condominium Act. It …
Sep 18, 2020 · If the Master Deed and Bylaws pass, the attorney will need to determine whether one of the seven (7) provisions applies that also requires 2/3 first mortgagee approval. If so, this often entails sending out the notifications and waiting 90 days for approval to be obtained before the Master Deed and Bylaws may be recorded in the Register of Deeds.
All amendments should be notarized and signed by a supermajority of unit owners and trustees, and should be timely filed with the appropriate registry of deeds. Gathering the necessary votes to amend your Condominium Documents is often difficult – it may require knocking on unit doors, open meetings, and navigating differing opinions.
Unless otherwise specified in the Master Deed or Bylaws, the Board of Directors has the authority to amend the Rules and Regulations of the association by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.
Second, the Condominium Act, MCL 559.101, et. seq., Act 59 of 1978, governs how a condominium association may amend the condominium’s Master Deed, Bylaws and the Condominium Subdivision Plan including the seven (7) instances when first mortgagee approval is required. Finally, the Rules and Regulations are typically amended by a majority vote ...
Step 1 : Normally, a Board of Directors for the association will decide that the condominium documents need to be updated either due to changes in the law or due to practical issues that have arisen which are not covered by the current condominium documents.
As an initial matter, a Board of Directors typically cannot amend the Articles of Incorporation, the Master Deed or the Bylaws solely by a vote of the Board of Directors. Two Michigan statutes primarily govern the amendment process. First, the Nonprofit Corporation Act, MCL 450.2101, et. seq., Act 162 of 1982, governs how a condominium association ...
The Massachusetts Condominium Act (“Condominium Act”), General Laws Chapter 183A, creates condominiums as a unique legal form of property ownership. Through the Condominium Act, a condominium is created by 1) drafting a master deed and recording it with the relevant registry of deeds and 2) drafting a Declaration of Trust, ...
The second document that creates a condominium is the Declaration of Trust . The Declaration creates a condominium trust association, with a board of trustees or managers who govern the condominium. The Declaration sets forth, among other things, what percentage of unit owners must agree to amend Condominium Documents, with most declarations requiring a “super majority” vote on all major issues to prevent deadlock.
Although not as heavily relied upon on a day to day basis, the Master Deed is the most important of the Condominium Documents. The Master Deed legally establishes the Condominium, sets forth the basis of ownership of the Unit space, defines the Common Elements, establishes the maintenance, repair and replacement responsibilities between the Association vis-a-vis the co-owners; creates and identifies the easements; defines the terms used throughout the Master Deed and Bylaws; and it provides approval guidelines for amending the Condominium Documents and terminating the Condominium. Your Master Deed could be amended, by way of example, to clarify and/or change Common Element maintenance, repair and replacement responsibilities, to update the easement Article regarding telecommunications, security, encroachment, utilities and maintenance, and to update the amendment requirements which have been substantially changed pursuant to the 2001 amendments to the Michigan Condominium Act. Other problems common in Master Deeds are that they contain obsolete developer provisions, or the Condominium may have been developed in phases and the Consolidating Master Deed was never filed or is improper. But, do not let any purported unanimous amendment approval requirement deter you from amending your documents, since those onerous unanimous approval requirements have been declared void and superseded by lesser requirements set forth in the Michigan Condominium Act, as amended. Amendments to the Master Deed and to the Condominium Bylaws must be recorded in the county Register of Deeds office.
The most widely desired amendment is to the Condominium Bylaws. This is due to the heavy reliance on the Condominium Bylaws for the day to day operation of the Condominium. The “state of the art” set of Condominium Bylaws also now incorporates the provisions of the Corporate Bylaws, thereby creating one cohesive, consistent document containing all Bylaw provisions (the “Bylaws”). If several provisions of the Bylaws are being amended, it is often preferable to not only amend the Bylaws, but to restate the entire document so that you have one entirely new set to use, rather than a piecemeal approach whereby some of the old Bylaw provisions would still be applicable, while other provisions are superseded by amendments. In deciding whether to amend the Bylaws, you want to ask yourself the following questions:
Before 1978, hundreds of Michigan Condominiums were established by Condominium Documents which were drafted to comport with the Horizontal Real Property Act of 1963. These pre-1978 Condominium Documents are dangerously antiquated now and, in many instances, contain provisions that are considered illegal and unenforceable by today’s standards and laws. A Board of Directors of a pre-1978 Condominium should presume their Condominium Documents are in need of updating and should contact an attorney specializing in Condominium law to advise the Board on how to initiate that process.
The documents of a Condominium Project establish the Condominium Project from a legal (title) standpoint, and create the framework for the governance of the Condominium Project. A properly governed Condominium Project can significantly enhance Unit re-sale marketability and real estate appreciation, as well as greatly reduce “headaches” caused by a problematic living environment rife with legal challenges and financial liabilities. The ability of a Condominium Association and its Board of Directors to effectively operate and administer the Condominium is also affected by the manner in which the provisions of the Condominium Documents are worded and how those provisions work together, within and throughout the various documents.
Before you can even consider changing your community’s governing documents, you must review the requirements for enacting change. For example, a community might notice that they had a hard time reaching quorum, inhibiting their ability to make any changes to their documents.
Governing documents affect every member of the Association, so changes should be done in a forthright and transparent fashion. Your property management company will help you create a communications strategy to invite participation from members.
Updating governing documents can require lengthy and complicated legal processes. Many changes will require input and advice from your community’s attorney.
Often, a Master Deed and Bylaws contain provisions that are not clear or conflict with each other. By way of example, the Master Deed may indicate that a Condominium is compromised of 100 units and assign a percentage of value to 100 units. However, the Subdivision Plan attached to the Master Deed only depicts 90 units. Accordingly, if the Master Deed, Condominium Bylaws and/or Subdivision Plan conflict with each other, your Condominium Documents should be immediately amended.
Significant revisions were made to the Michigan Condominium Act in 2001 and in 2002. If you live in a seasoned condominium and your condominium documents have never been amended, or if they have not been amended after 2002, it is likely that your Master Deed and Bylaws need to be updated. Moreover, if your Condominium Documents pre-date 1988, there is a chance that they do not comply with the Fair Housing Act, as this is when the Fair Housing Act was amended to forbid discrimination based upon familial status and disability, which are the two most common discrimination claims brought under the Fair Housing Act.
MCL 559.206 allows for an Association to recover attorney’s fees and costs from a co-owner that has violated the condominium documents to the extent that the condominium documents expressly provide for this remedy. Given that it is not fair for all the co-owners that have complied with the condominium documents to pay the legal fees associated with bringing a co-owner in default in compliance with the condominium documents, the Association should ensure that its condominium documents allow for the recovery of attorney’s fees and costs. Moreover, the condominium documents should allow for other enforcement mechanisms, such as injunctive relief, the recovery of monetary damages for a violation and/or the ability to assess any damages or legal fees to an offending co-owner’s unit.