“Our small HOA of 16 townhomes was built in the 1970s. The roofs are in dire need of replacement. It’s never been done before. We have no reserves to speak of. We have no manager. The treasurer takes care of everything. The Board of Directors recently sent out a notice that they decided to make the roof over each unit the legal responsibility of the unit owner under it. They call it a CC&R amendment despite the roof being a common component and no supermajority vote of members as required by the bylaws. Funny that they do this now when the roofs need to be replaced and we have no money. What do you suggest we do?”

The CC&Rs is a legal document, a contract, that can only be amended by the necessary vote of your membership or court of competent jurisdiction. A vote of the Board doesn’t cut it. There are other issues to contend with when ceding control over a common element (roof, structural components, exterior) to individual owners that I won’t get into here.

Quite frankly, unless they have illegally recorded a CC&R amendment with the County, or are forcing you to replace the roof now, I would ignore it. If they require the roof to be replaced within a certain timeframe, that’s different. In that case, I would put the HOA on notice, in writing, that their requirement is illegal and inconsistent with the actual recorded CC&Rs, you will not participate, you demand the roof be replaced by the HOA, and a special assessment may be necessary.

If the HOA does not budge, you might need to engage an attorney to help them see the error of their ways.