Understanding Board Member Duties: When Condo Boards Fail

Boards of directors for condominium corporations are typically comprised of volunteers. Depending on the eligibility requirements in the corporation's bylaws, these are more often than not members of the corporation, that is, unit owners. For residential condominiums, this means that the directors are also often lay people, with no particular specialized skills or professional knowledge. Most board members I've met are certainly not well-versed in the nuances and intricacies of condominium law, and many have little to no appreciable background in building maintenance, or even accounting. As a result, many condo boards tend to rely on experts, such as property managers and engineers, to provide them with advice and guidance when problems arise.