This post is one of a series about 10 Most Common Misperceptions About Condominium Laws And Operations, which I presented at the Maine Condo Forum and Expo in Portland, Maine, on September 25, 2010.
“There are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns, that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don’t know we do not know”
This was Donald Rumsfeld, discussing the Iraq war.
His comments were widely ridiculed. But he was right, and his comments are especially pertinent when you, as a volunteer board member, find yourself dealing with complicated matters such as the operation of a condominium. You are governed by a complex condominium act and various other statues, not to mention long condominium documents, which are sometimes poorly written.
If your documents say “no pets” and a disabled person wants to move in with a service animal, your unknown unknown might be the existence of the federal Fair Housing Act, which overrides your documents and provides very substantial penalties if you don’t make a reasonable accommodation for his disability.
Your condominium documents do not cover all the legal requirements for condominiums. The Maine Condominium Act has “default” rules that apply in the absence of contrary provisions in the declaration or bylaws. Many requirements found in the Maine Nonprofit Corporation Act will not be listed in the Bylaws. And, you may be governed by another condominium act, the Unit Ownership Act, which applies to condominiums created prior to 1983.
You cannot possibly know all aspects of condominium operations. Sometimes you do not know what you do not know, the unknown unknowns, and can be unpleasantly surprised by something that comes at you from left field.
There’s lots of free information out there: use it. Sources of information about unknown unknowns also include your property manager, your attorney, various written materials about specific topics available from CAI and elsewhere and resources available online, including the CAI website.
Recommendation: When facing a non-routine issue, actively reach out for advice and information from other sources to discover your unknown unknowns. Some sources you might check:
- Condominium laws of Maine, at my website: http://www.mainecondo.com/laws1.html
- Community Associations Institute website: http://www.caionline.org/Pages/Default.aspx
- Community Associations Institute, New England Chapter: http://www.caine.org/