The rules and rights that apply to a condominium owner live in a set of legal instruments called the association’s governing documents. There are three of them: the Declaration (also called the Master Deed or the CC&Rs, for Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions), the Bylaws, and the Rules and Regulations. Together they define what you own, what the association owns, what you must pay, how you can use your unit and the common areas, and what the association is allowed to make you do. Federal law sits above all of it and overrides anything in the documents that conflicts with it.
The Three Governing Documents and Which One Wins
The Declaration is the document that legally creates the condominium. It defines the physical boundaries of each unit, identifies the common elements shared by all owners, and assigns each unit an ownership percentage. That percentage usually sets your share of assessments and your voting weight. The Declaration also gives the association its power to collect assessments, impose rules, and enforce compliance, and it sets out restrictions that run with the land, which means they bind every future buyer automatically. It is recorded with the county recorder’s office as a public record.
The Bylaws govern how the association itself operates: how board members are elected, when meetings are held, what counts as a quorum, and what powers the officers have. Every owner and board member is bound by them.
The Rules and Regulations fill in day-to-day details the other two documents don’t address, such as pet policies, parking assignments, noise standards, pool hours, and how common areas can be used. Boards can usually adopt or amend them without a full owner vote.
The hierarchy matters. The Declaration sits at the top. If the Bylaws conflict with the Declaration, the Declaration wins. If a Rule conflicts with either, the Rule loses. A board cannot use a Rule to accomplish something the Declaration doesn’t let it do.
What Rights You Have as an Owner
Your governing documents grant specific rights, and several of them are easy to overlook until you need them.
- Access to common areas. You can use shared amenities like pools, fitness centers, lobbies, and parking structures, subject to reasonable regulations the association applies to everyone.
- Voting. Owners vote on major association decisions, including board elections, budget approvals, and special assessments. Your voting power typically corresponds to the ownership percentage set in the Declaration.
- Record inspection. You can request access to the association’s official records, including financial statements, annual budgets, meeting minutes, vendor contracts, and insurance policies. Most states require the association to make these available within a set timeframe after a written request.
- Quiet enjoyment. You have the right to use your unit without unreasonable interference from the association or other owners, as long as you are following the governing documents yourself.
- Due process in enforcement. If the association accuses you of a violation, you generally have the right to written notice and a chance to be heard before fines or penalties are imposed. The specifics vary by state, but notice and an opportunity to respond are widespread.
If the association ignores these rights, owners in most states can pursue remedies ranging from mediation to court action. Many states now require some form of alternative dispute resolution before a lawsuit can be filed.
Federal Laws That Override Association Rules
Governing documents don’t exist in a vacuum. Federal law sets a floor that no association rule can drop below, and two federal protections come up constantly in condo disputes.
Fair Housing Act
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or disability.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing and Other Prohibited Practices It applies directly to condominium associations. An association cannot adopt or enforce any rule that discriminates against owners or prospective buyers based on a protected characteristic. A rule banning children from certain floors, for example, would violate the familial status protection.
The Act also requires associations to grant reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. If an owner with a disability needs an exception to an existing rule in order to have equal use of their home, the association must provide it unless doing so would impose an undue financial burden or fundamentally change the association’s operations.2U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development The most common example: an association with a no-pets policy must allow a resident with a disability to keep an assistance animal, because the animal is not a pet under the law.
FCC Antenna Rule
The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) rule prevents associations from blocking the installation of satellite dishes and certain antennas on property within an owner’s exclusive use or control, such as a balcony or patio.3Federal Communications Commission. Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule The rule covers satellite dishes one meter or less in diameter and antennas designed to receive television broadcast signals. An association cannot require prior approval for installation, charge a fee for it, or reject the dish based on aesthetics.
Safety restrictions and historic preservation requirements are allowed, but only if they are clearly defined, necessary, and no more burdensome than needed.4eCFR. 47 CFR 1.4000 – Restrictions Impairing Reception of Television Broadcast Signals, Direct Broadcast Satellite Services or Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Services The rule does not reach common areas. An owner cannot install a dish on the building’s roof or in a shared hallway, only on space they exclusively control.
What You Are Required to Do
Pay Your Assessments
Paying assessments on time is probably the single most consequential obligation you have. Regular assessments fund the maintenance and operation of everything outside your unit walls: landscaping, building insurance, elevator maintenance, hallway cleaning, and reserve contributions. Your share is based on the ownership percentage assigned in the Declaration.
Falling behind escalates fast. The association can charge late fees and interest and in most states can record a lien against your unit for the unpaid amount. In some states, a portion of an unpaid assessment lien actually takes priority over your mortgage, meaning the association gets paid before the bank. If the debt grows large enough, the association may foreclose on the lien, which can result in the loss of your unit through a court-ordered sale. The threshold and procedure vary by state, but the risk is real.
Special assessments are a separate category. When a reserve fund falls short and a major repair cannot wait, the association can levy a one-time charge on all owners above and beyond regular dues. These can run into thousands of dollars per unit, and owners generally cannot refuse to pay. Nonpayment triggers the same lien and collection consequences as unpaid regular dues.
Maintain Your Unit
You are responsible for maintaining everything inside your unit’s boundaries as defined by the Declaration. That typically includes interior walls, flooring, fixtures, appliances, and plumbing or electrical components that serve only your unit. Some Declarations also assign certain exterior elements to specific owners, like a balcony or a limited common element. Read the Declaration carefully, because the line between your responsibility and the association’s is not always where you’d expect.
Carry the Right Insurance
The association carries a master insurance policy covering the building’s structure and common areas. That policy does not cover what’s inside your unit. You need a separate policy, commonly called an HO-6 or “walls-in” policy, which covers your personal belongings, interior finishes and fixtures, any upgrades you have made, personal liability for injuries in your unit, and living expenses if your unit becomes temporarily uninhabitable.
How much interior coverage you need depends on what the master policy excludes. Some master policies are “bare walls” policies that cover only the exterior shell. Others are “all-in” policies that cover original interior features like builder-installed flooring and countertops but not your personal property or upgrades. Ask the association which type it carries, then make sure your HO-6 fills the gap. Most HO-6 policies do not automatically cover flood, earthquake, or sewer backup damage, so review those exclusions.
How Association Rules Get Enforced
Enforcement usually follows a predictable escalation. The first step is a written notice identifying the violation and giving the owner a deadline to fix it. Most reasonable boards treat this as the end of it, because most violations are inadvertent.
If the violation continues, the association can impose fines. Fine amounts and daily caps vary widely depending on the governing documents and state law. Some states cap fines at $100 per violation, while others set no statutory limit at all and leave the amount to the governing documents. Before imposing a fine, most states require the association to give the owner written notice and an opportunity to be heard.
For repeated violations, associations can suspend common area privileges like pool or gym access. Courts generally uphold these suspensions as long as the governing documents authorize them and the association followed its own procedures.
The most serious enforcement tool is legal action. For unpaid assessments, the association can record a lien against the unit and ultimately pursue foreclosure. For other violations, the association may seek a court injunction requiring the owner to comply. Many states now require or strongly encourage mediation or arbitration as a first step. If your dispute reaches that point, check whether your state mandates alternative dispute resolution before a lawsuit can proceed.
How Governing Documents Get Changed
The process for changing a governing document reflects how fundamental it is. Amending the Declaration almost always requires a vote of the unit owners, typically a supermajority of two-thirds or three-fourths of all voting interests, not just those who show up to the meeting. Some Declarations require even higher thresholds for certain provisions, like changing the allocation of ownership percentages. Once approved, amendments must be recorded with the county recorder’s office to become legally effective.
Bylaw amendments also require an owner vote, sometimes at a lower threshold than Declaration amendments. The specific percentage is spelled out in the Bylaws themselves.
Rules and Regulations can often be adopted or changed by a simple board vote. That makes them the most flexible of the three documents and also the one most vulnerable to overreach by an aggressive board. If you believe a change is needed, or you think a new rule has gone beyond what the Declaration authorizes, start by reading the amendment procedures in the specific document at issue.