The president of the co-ownership refuses to call an elevator repairman at night and on weekends

Ryan Poliakoff
| Special to the Palm Beach Post

Do you live in a house governed by a condominium, cooperative or homeowners association? Do you have questions about what they can and can’t do? Ryan Poliakoff, a Boca Raton-based attorney and author, has answers.

Question: My wife and I have resided in a 55+ condominium for over 20 years. There are five similar buildings of four floors each and eight condominiums per floor. Each building has an elevator which serves the thirty-two owners. Many of us have mobility limitations – for example walkers, wheelchairs and other physical limitations that prevent the safe use of four flights of stairs.

Recently our newly elected board president said he would no longer call for elevator service on evenings and weekends because service calls are more expensive outside of business hours. His statement obviously blocks several owners having mobility problems in their co-ownership when the elevator is not operational in the evening and on weekends. Without access to an elevator, this restricts the access of owners with reduced mobility to our common elements.

Additionally, homeowners who cannot safely climb four flights of stairs are at much higher risk of delay in accessing medical care. We are very concerned about the president’s new policy. All owners pay their common charges which finance all the common areas of the co-ownership and other common expenses.

What can be done to restore our previous maintenance policy, which of course provided for elevator maintenance twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week? Signed, WC

Dear WC.,

As you may recall from previous columns, the Fair Housing Act both prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and requires housing providers (like condominiums) to make reasonable accommodations to its rules and practical when necessary to enable a disabled person to fully benefit from their accommodation. the premises.

On the one hand, there is no doubt that condominiums are allowed to make decisions about how to spend their money; and they could legitimately argue that the decision to wait for repairs during business hours is a legitimate business decision. On the other hand, this business decision has a direct and very significant discriminatory impact on people with disabilities. The intention may not be to discriminate, but the business decision certainly has a negative impact on people with disabilities.

Additionally, it could be argued that the association must reasonably accommodate people with disabilities by repairing elevators at all times, despite the cost.

I’ve never encountered this exact problem, but these are at least the arguments I can see that the association’s business decision is inappropriate.

The counterargument would be that even if the association requested repairs on evenings and weekends, that doesn’t mean those repairs would be done – I’ve seen situations where elevators are out of service for weeks because they are obsolete and parts are not available. more readily available; and it can have an equally dramatic impact on disabled residents, even if the association can do nothing to get the elevators back into service. So, I’m not really sure where this case would go if it went to court, but it’s certainly an interesting legal dispute.

But more to the point, I wonder if there are so many residents with disabilities that you could effectively control this decision either by making yourself and your position loud and clear to board members or by making sure you win over the next elections (or if the election has already taken place, reminds the board of directors).

Remember, the majority is in control and the president is not a king. The president can only make these decisions because the board (and by extension the members) allows him to do so. A majority of the board of directors can oust him (or replace him as president) at any time; and a majority of owners can also remove the board at any time. It is therefore possible that your best solution, as is so often the case, is political rather than legal.

Can a condominium board of directors hold informal meetings without notice?

Question: The president of our association says that the Condominium Act allows informal board meetings to be held without notice. Is this true? Signed, A.W.

Dear AW,

No, that’s not the case. Meetings of the board of directors at which a quorum of members of the board of directors are present must be announced and open to the members. There is no discussion in the statute about informal meetings that do not require notice.

Now, if a quorum of board members meets socially, I don’t think anyone would consider a board meeting, until the business of the association is discussed or conducted. But if association business is discussed, and even if no formal vote takes place, I think it is technically a board meeting that requires notice, and must be open to members, unless it is a meeting with an attorney or to discuss personnel matters.

Ryan Poliakoff, partner at Poliakoff Backer, LLP, is a certified specialist in condominium and planned development law. This column is dedicated to the memory of Gary Poliakoff. Ryan Poliakoff and Gary Poliakoff are co-authors of “New Neighborhoods — The Consumer’s Guide to Condominium, Co-Op and HOA Living.” Email your questions to [email protected]. Be sure to include your location.