Everything is Not Fine

We are called humans, not perfects. So, shocking as this may be, sometimes people do things they shouldn't. They make mistakes. They speed. They park illegally. They bounce a check. None of the sanctions for these types of things usually result in anything more than a fine.

The same thing happens in Condo World. Unit Owners (or tenants) don't pick up after their dog. They park where they should not. They don't pay their condo fees on time. Much like in the criminal world, these types of missteps lead to fines.

Boards have the power to impose fines. Of that there is no doubt. There is little better way to enforce documents and bring a wayward unit owner back into the community flock than to hit them in the wallet. But what should people be fined in Condo World? That's the question (and result) that Boards spend a lot of time on, unit owners get aggravated about, and management companies dread because they get the irate phone calls and emails. But, as with everything in life, there is a solution.

Too many associations get bogged down creating fine schedules. For instance, a first violation may be a written warning; a second may be a fine of $25.00; a third may be a $50.00 fine; etc. The problems with this type of attempt to address problems are three-fold. First, over what time period are the fines to be administered? Does each unit owner's slate get wiped clean each year? Are violations tabulated on a calendar year or on a rolling twelve-month period? Do the violations apply per unit, per owner, per person, or per Unit regardless of how many people reside in or visit the Unit?

Second, as you can see, this becomes an administrative nightmare. Unless the rules are laid out in particular detail answering all of the questions posed above, then someone who has way too much time on their hands will contest a $50.00 fine with the same degree of vim and vigor as if the Association had just taken their first born child. It leads to multiple emails, letters, requests to meet with the Board, threats against the management company, and promises to report the Association's attorney to the Bar to be sanctioned and disbarred. (I jest not. All of these have happened in cases with which I have been involved.)

Third, a $25.00, $50.00, perhaps even a $100.00 fine is worth the price for some people. If someone wants to have a group of people over for the Super Bowl and is charging $10.00 a head for the keg of beer, then a $25.00 fine is nothing. Worse, if it's a first offense, they will get nothing but a warning. This may come as a shock, but some people will look at the fine schedule, determine the price of the fine is worth breaking the rule and go ahead and break it.

That, of course, drives the neighbor next door crazy. The neighbor comes home one night after a particularly interesting day with his or her boss, fumes about it on the way home, gets cut off in traffic by some happy person who is not paying as much attention to other drivers as he or she should, and all our put open Owner wants to do is get to their home and lose themselves in a warm tub or a glass of wine (or scotch). So the Owner pulls into Tranquility Estates Condo Association … and finds their neighbor has multiple friends over, at least one of whom has taken our Owner's parking space. Then the Owner notifies the Board and finds out all they can do is give a warning or a $25.00 fine. At least the Owner has forgotten about their Boss, but now wants to do serious bodily injury to the Board.

It is for reasons such as this example that staggered fine schedules do not work.

The best fine schedule is one where the Board is simply allowed to fine anyone up to a certain amount, $500 or $1,000.00, for each violation of the condominium instruments and/or the Rules and Regulations, leaving the amount to be imposed by the Board based upon the circumstances of each incident.

Judges don't have fine schedules. Neither should Boards.

Boards can then, as with judges, fit the “punishment” to the “crime.”

Some Unit Owners are a bit leery of giving Boards this much power. But there is always a provision in the documents, usually in the Bylaws, that allows Owners to remove a Board member (or two or three) if the Owners think the Board is fining fellow owners unfairly.

Additionally, Unit Owners should be allowed an appeal. Boards frequently get letters, pictures, emails, etc. about a violation, consider the situation as best they can and impose a fine. Most of the time the matter ends, but sometimes the Owner wants to plead their case and appear in front of the Board. They should always be allowed to do so, setting a limit on the time for the appeal, so it does not become a trial.

If the Owner still does not like the result, the Owner should be allowed to appeal the matter to the Owners as the next scheduled Association meeting.

Of course, if their Boss owns a Unit in the Association, the Association meeting probably won't go well. But there's always the voodoo doll.