Only post approved board minutes
Q. Our association posts various documents, including approved minutes of meetings, on our website. Since the board meets quarterly, an owner is demanding that the board post the proposed minutes of board meetings on the association's website, before the minutes are actually approved by the board. Is the association required to do this?
A. The association is not required to make draft minutes of board meetings available to the unit owners. I would not suggest posting or otherwise distributing draft minutes, even if they are clearly marked as a draft, since they could include incorrect or inaccurate information that could lead to confusion. Of course, once the minutes are approved by the board at a board meeting, owners would be entitled to examine and copy them. Only after the minutes are approved by the board should they be posted on the association's website, or otherwise be made available to owners.
Q. I understand owners in a condominium are required to provide a copy of the lease for their unit to the association. What if the lease is oral?
A. Section 18(n)(ii) of the Condominium Property Act governs this issue. The unit owner leasing their unit is required to deliver a copy of the signed lease to the board not later than the date of occupancy or 10 days after the lease is signed, whichever occurs first. If the lease is oral, a memorandum of the lease must be provided to the board within the same time period. A memorandum of lease typically includes the basic terms of the lease. Do note, though, that the declaration for many associations requires all leases to be in writing.
Q. Our condominium was sued by an owner, and the suit is being defended by an attorney appointed by the association's insurance carrier. The unit owner's attorney and the association's insurance-appointed attorney apparently worked out a settlement that was agreed to by the association's insurance carrier. The board does not like the terms of the settlement. Can the board stop the insurance carrier from agreeing to the settlement?
A. The Condominium Property Act provides that any insurer defending a liability claim against a condominium association must notify the association of the terms of the settlement no less than 10 days before settling the claim. However, the association may not veto the settlement unless that right is otherwise provided by contract or statute.
If an association is adamant that its insurance carrier not settle for an agreed upon sum, the association does risk being advised by its insurance carrier that the association would be on the hook for any amount over and above the agreed upon settlement if a higher amount was awarded in a trial. So, associations do need to be cognizant of that potential outcome if they are able to reject a proposed settlement approved by its insurance carrier.
Q. The same people get elected to the board of our association election after election. Are there term limits for members of the board of associations?
A. In a condominium, no member of the board or officer can be elected for a term of more than two years. In a common interest community association, no member of the board or officer can be elected for a term of more than four years. However, in both types of associations, officers and board members may succeed themselves. So while there are limits on the length of a term, the governing statutes do not limit the total number of terms or years that a person can serve on the board or as an officer of an association.
• David M. Bendoff is an attorney with Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit in the Chicago suburbs. Send questions for the column to him at CondoTalk@ksnlaw.com. The firm provides legal service to condominium, townhouse, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives. This column is not a substitute for consultation with legal counsel.