What You’ll Learn
- What Rhode Island’s Condominium Act allows a board to do
- How special assessments are supposed to be levied and challenged
- The due process a board must follow before fining an owner
- When a board’s rule enforcement crosses from strict to unlawful
- The remedies owners have when a board oversteps
Every condo owner eventually gets a notice from the board that doesn’t sit right. Maybe it’s a special assessment that seems to have appeared out of nowhere, or a fine for a rule violation nobody remembers agreeing to. The instinct is to assume the board can do whatever it wants because it’s the board. That instinct is wrong more often than owners realize.
Rhode Island’s Condominium Act gives associations real authority, but that authority is limited by the statute itself. Boards that ignore those limits, whether through carelessness or overreach, open themselves up to a challenge. Knowing where the line sits is the difference between a complaint that goes nowhere and one that gets your assessment reduced or your fine dismissed.
The Board’s Authority Comes from a Specific Statute
Rhode Island condominium associations operate under the Condominium Act, codified at title 34, chapter 36.1 of the General Laws. Section 34-36.1-3.02 spells out what a board can do on the association’s behalf: adopt and amend bylaws and rules, manage budgets, collect assessments, hire staff and contractors, bring or defend lawsuits, regulate the use of common elements, and impose fines for rule violations.
That’s a broad grant of power, and it’s easy for owners to read it as unlimited. It isn’t. Every one of those powers is bounded by the association’s own governing documents, meaning the declaration and bylaws recorded when the condominium was created, and by the statute’s own procedural requirements. A board acting outside what its governing documents authorize or skipping the process the statute requires isn’t exercising real power – it’s exceeding one.
Special Assessments: What’s Allowed and What’s Not
Regular common expenses get divided among owners according to the formula set out in the declaration, usually based on each unit’s percentage interest in the common elements. A special assessment is different. It’s what a board levies when an unexpected cost arises, a roof failure, a structural repair, litigation, or a budget shortfall that reserves don’t cover.
The board generally has authority to impose these, but that authority isn’t a blank check. The assessment still has to be tied to an actual association expense, allocated according to the same formula the declaration sets out for regular common expenses, and adopted through whatever board or membership vote the bylaws require. Declarations frequently set a dollar threshold above which a special assessment needs approval from the ownership at large rather than the board alone. A board that pushes through a large assessment without seeking that vote, when the bylaws call for one, has given owners real grounds to challenge it.
Owners who think an assessment is improper have a few paths. The first is procedural: request the meeting minutes, budget documentation, and vote record behind the assessment, and check them against what the bylaws require. A defect there, such as a missing vote, inadequate notice, or an assessment that doesn’t match the stated purpose, can be enough to have it set aside. The second is financial: request an accounting of the association’s reserves and expenses to determine whether the assessment is necessary or reflects years of underfunded reserves being passed on to current owners all at once. Neither path requires a lawsuit as a first step. Many disputes are resolved once an association’s paperwork is put before its board.
Rule Enforcement and Fines Require Due Process
Boards can adopt rules covering common areas, parking, noise, pets, and dozens of other everyday issues, and section 34-36.1-3.02 gives them authority to fine owners who violate those rules. But that same section requires notice and an opportunity to be heard before a fine can be levied. A board that issues a fine by letter, with no chance for the owner to respond or contest the violation, hasn’t followed the process the statute requires, and that fine is vulnerable to challenge on that basis alone.
Beyond the notice requirement, rule enforcement must be reasonable and applied consistently to every owner. A rule enforced against one unit while others openly violate it without consequence isn’t being applied uniformly, and inconsistent enforcement is one of the more common grounds owners have for pushing back. This comes up constantly with short-term rental restrictions, pet policies, and parking rules adopted after many owners already had cars, pets, or rental arrangements in place. A new rule generally can’t retroactively punish conduct an owner was lawfully engaging in before the rule existed, though associations can restrict new instances of that conduct going forward.
Where the Board’s Authority Ends
A board’s power comes from the declaration, the bylaws, and the statute together. It doesn’t extend to matters those documents don’t cover, and it doesn’t override an owner’s rights that the declaration or the Condominium Act specifically protects. A board can’t, for instance, adopt a rule that conflicts with an owner’s rights as set out in the declaration itself, since the declaration sits above the board’s rulemaking authority in the association’s own governing structure. A board also has to act in good faith. Decisions driven by personal disputes between board members and specific owners, rather than by the association’s actual interests, are exactly the kind of conduct that is successfully challenged.
What Owners Can Do
An owner who believes a board has overstepped has real remedies. Many declarations require mediation or another form of dispute resolution before litigation, which is often the faster and cheaper route to a resolution. Where that doesn’t resolve the issue, owners can bring a lawsuit to compel the association to follow its own governing documents, to challenge a specific assessment or fine, or, in serious cases involving misconduct, to seek the removal of board members. Rhode Island courts have shown they’ll enforce the statute’s procedural requirements when a board skips them, which is exactly why documenting the process behind a disputed assessment or fine matters so much before any of these steps.
If your association has levied an assessment or fine that doesn’t add up, Sayer, Regan & Thayer’s real estate attorneys can review your declaration and bylaws and tell you exactly where the board’s authority stands.
Contact Sayer, Regan & Thayer for more information on this topic.
Sayer, Regan & Thayer is a real estate law firm serving clients throughout Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. If you have questions about your rights as a buyer or need legal counsel during a purchase transaction, contact our office to speak with a member of our team.
This article is intended for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Boundary disputes involve specific facts and legal questions that require the advice of a licensed attorney in your state. Consult a real estate attorney before taking action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can our board impose a special assessment without a vote of the full membership?
It depends on what the bylaws say. Many declarations allow the board to approve smaller special assessments on its own, but require an ownership vote for amounts above a set dollar threshold. Check the bylaws before assuming the board had authority to act alone.
What counts as adequate notice before a fine?
The statute requires notice and an opportunity to be heard, but doesn’t specify an exact number of days or a required format. Reasonable practice is written notice describing the alleged violation, with a real chance to respond before the fine is finalized, whether at a hearing or in writing.
Can a board change the rules after I’ve already been doing something for years?
Generally, a board can adopt new rules going forward, but retroactively punishing conduct that was permitted at the time it began is on shakier legal ground. This comes up often with rental restrictions and pet policies adopted after owners already had arrangements in place.
Do I have to pay a disputed assessment while I’m challenging it?
In most cases, yes. Withholding payment can expose an owner to late fees, interest, or a lien under the association’s lien rights, even if the assessment is later found improper. It’s usually better to pay under protest and pursue the challenge separately.
What if the board simply won’t respond to my questions about an assessment?
Owners generally have the right to review the association’s financial records and meeting minutes. If a board won’t provide them, that refusal is itself worth raising with an attorney, since it often signals a deeper problem with how the assessment was adopted.