Rights and Responsibilities for Better Communities

Principles for Homeowners and Community Leaders
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More than a destination at the end of the day, a community is a place people want to call home and where they feel at home. This goal is best achieved when homeowners, non-owner residents and association leaders recognize and accept their rights and responsibilities. This entails striking a reasonable balance between the preferences of individual homeowners and the best interests of the community as a whole. It is with this challenge in mind that Community Associations Institute (CAI) developed Rights and Responsibilities for Better Communities. 

Rights and Responsibilities can serve as an important guidepost for all those involved in the community—board and committee members, community managers, homeowners and non-owner residents.

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Homeowners Have the Right To:

- A responsive and competent community association.
- Honest, fair and respectful treatment by community leaders and           managers.
- Participate in governing the community association by attending   
  meetings, serving on committees and standing for election.
- Access appropriate association books and records.
- Prudent expenditure of fees and other assessments.
- Live in a community where the property is maintained according to   
  established standards.
- Fair treatment regarding financial and other association obligations, 
  including the opportunity to discuss payment plans and options with 
  the association before foreclosure is initiated.
- Receive all documents that address rules and regulations governing 
  the community association—if not prior to purchase and settlement 
  by a real estate agent or attorney, then upon joining the community.
- Appeal to appropriate community leaders those decisions affecting 
  non-routine financial responsibilities or property rights. 

Homeowners Have the Responsibility To:

- Read and comply with the governing documents of the community.
- Maintain their property according to established standards.
- Treat association leaders honestly and with respect.
- Vote in community elections and on other issues.
- Pay association assessments and charges on time.
- Contact association leaders or managers, if necessary, to discuss 
  financial obligations and alternative payment arrangements.
- Request reconsideration of material decisions that personally affect 
  them.
- Provide current contact information to association leaders or 
  managers to help ensure they receive information from the 
  community.
- Ensure that those who reside on their property (e.g., tenants,  
  relatives, friends) adhere to all rules and regulations.

Community Leaders Have the Right To:

- Expect owners and non-owner residents to meet their financial 
  obligations to the community.
- Expect residents to know and comply with the rules and regulations 
  of the community and to stay informed by reading materials provided 
  by the association.
- Respectful and honest treatment from residents.
- Conduct meetings in a positive and constructive atmosphere.
- Receive support and constructive input from owners and non-owner 
  residents.
- Personal privacy at home and during leisure time in the community.
- Take advantage of educational opportunities (e.g., publications, 
  training workshops) that are directly related to their responsibilities, 
  and as approved by the association.

Community Leaders Have the Responsibility To:

- Fulfill their fiduciary duties to the community and exercise discretion 
  in a manner they reasonably believe to be in the best interests of the 
  community.
- Exercise sound business judgment and follow established 
  management practices.
- Balance the needs and obligations of the community as a whole with 
  those of individual homeowners and residents.
- Understand the association’s governing documents and become 
  educated with respect to applicable state and local laws, and to 
  manage the community association accordingly. 
- Establish committees or use other methods to obtain input from 
  owners and non-owner residents.
- Conduct open, fair and well-publicized elections.
- Welcome and educate new members of the community—owners and 
  non-owner residents alike.
- Encourage input from residents on issues affecting them personally 
  and the community as a whole.
- Encourage events that foster neighborliness and a sense of 
  community.
- Conduct business in a transparent manner when feasible and 
  appropriate.
- Allow homeowners access to appropriate community records, when 
  requested.
- Collect all monies due from owners and non-owner residents.
- Devise appropriate and reasonable arrangements, when needed and 
  as feasible, to facilitate the ability of individual homeowners to meet 
  their financial obligations to the community.
- Provide a process residents can use to appeal decisions affecting 
  their non-routine financial responsibilities or property rights—where   
  permitted by law and the association’s governing documents.
- Initiate foreclosure proceedings only as a measure of last resort.
- Make covenants, conditions and restrictions as understandable as 
  possible, adding clarifying “lay” language or supplementary materials 
  when drafting or revising the documents.
- Provide complete and timely disclosure of personal and financial 
  conflicts of interest related to the actions of community leaders, for 
  instance, officers, the board and committees.  

     (Community associations may want to develop a code of ethics)

Visit www.caionline.org; write [email protected]; or call (888) 224-4321 (M–F, 9–6:30 ET)

​This information sponsored by CAI’s President’s Club

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​Disclaimer: information provided on this page is subject to change by your Board of Directors and/or management company. It is always advisable to verify the above information with your Board and/or management company.