Rules are necessary for any community association, condominium association or homeowner association. However, some communities are rule happy, some don’t have any, and some don’t enforce their rules. Where is the proper balance? What makes a good rule or law? Its also important to say their is a hierarchy of laws for most Florida condominium associations and homeowners associations. The most important set are the Articles of Incorporation because they create the association, then the declaration of condominium, then the bylaws and then finally the rules and regulations. Rules are last, have the least teethe, and are the easiest to change. I think that there are some fundamental guidelines for laws and rules, we can all agree, that all rules and regulations should meet. A good law or rule should be needed, enforceable, reasonable, uniformly affects all the citizens, and well written so it can be clearly stated and understood.
By enforceable, I mean first that the Community Association has the capacity to monitor, inspect and supervise the activity in question. Then, if someone is breaking a rule, there should be a reasonable way to inform the violator, and enough time for the violator to correct the offense. I find that most of the time people are simply unaware they have broken a rule. This could be because they have not read their governing documents (most have not), and you can say that is no excuse, and you would be correct. But, as with most disputes, conflicts, offenses in life, the cause is usually a misunderstanding between the parties. Once the situation is explained, goodwill can take over, and the offender can comply and be a contributing a part of the community.
A pessimistic view assumes that the violator is not complying on purpose, will not comply when notified of the violation, and the quicker to the fine process the better. In recent years laws have been added to protect the rights of residents, making the fine process longer and drawn out. Fines for rules violations are also not something that can be liened against the condo unit. These fines and costs will have to be collected in small claims court, which can be a costly and lengthy process. Jumping quickly to a fine is not a good course or the best course.
signs in communities can be just plain stupid
I could say more, but the point is I believe it is better to work with the rules violator to gain compliance, and give them every opportunity to comply, rather than jump to the fine flag and administrative threats. It is better to assume they were just misinformed or not informed, rather than imply they did it on purpose. If a first time offender is managed this way, it instills a belief in that person that the community is reasonably managed by people who want to get along, and promote the goodwill of all the residents. It fosters a willingness to actually read all of the rules, and comply because they want to, not because they have to. In fact, most offenders have offended somewhere before. If they get a call or are confronted with a conflict they may have caused, it is far better to lower the temperature of that conversation by diffusing their defensiveness, than to escalate it with threatening words.
Another axiom that applies here is that physical property signs are for those who are willing to read them and to comply. Violators will simply not read and ignore them. The worst thing you can do is have a sign with restrictions that are never enforced. The same applies to rules. You can have a property filled with signs, and still have chaos. You can add more and more rules, and still spend most of your time chasing people to comply. If I drive through a community with too many signs, or obvious signs, or signs with text that is just plain stupid, I see a community that is not managed well. Right away I get a negative feel, and can assume property values are lower than in a community with less signs. Less signs indicates the residents are cooperative and compliant, care about their community, without having to be reminded. The same principal applies to rules, the less is more theory is best. Residents that take pride in their community also want everyone to get along as much as possible, near and neighborly as it were.
Signs are for those who read them
Most communities inherit rules that were incorporated when their original community documents were filed by their developer with the state. AKA “use restrictions”, found in the declaration of condominium, or main HOA documents. Older communities should consider deleting rules that no longer apply or that are not enforceable or that have. Not been enforced. Most community documents provide for the board to be able to amend, add, or delete rules. Just remember, the easier it is to make a rule, the less teeth there is in it. In my experience, the vast majority of the time it has been suggested to create a new rule, after the idea was fully vetted, it was decided not to have the rule, and achieve the same objective in a less legal manner. Just because you can have a rule, doesn’t mean you should have a rule. Managing a community association is not a science, it is an art.
