Q The board of our condo issued a ruling that any unit owner who is behind in payment of common charges cannot vote at the annual meeting. Our bylaws only say that each owner is entitled to one vote. No mention is made about denying the vote. Doesn't this ruling require a change in the bylaws? This would require a 2/3 vote from the unit owners. The board also now charges delinquent accounts 9% per month or 108% on an annual basis. Is this legal?

—In Denial

A “If you and your condominium are located in a state that has already adopted the condominium “Bill of Rights” (also referred to as the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act or UCIOA II), and your condominium was created on January 1, 1999 or later, your board is way off-base as section 3-102 (18) provides that the association … 'may suspend any right or privilege of the unit owner that fails to pay an assessment but may not … (B) suspend the unit owners right to vote',” explains attorney Jack Facey from Kenlan, Schwiebert, Facey & Goss, PC in Rutland, Vermont.

“If you and your condominium are not located in a state that has adopted the most current version of the UCIOA Bill of Rights, and your declaration and bylaws are silent on the issue of whether or not the association, or the board acting on behalf of the association, may suspend the right of a delinquent unit owner to vote, my opinion is that this is a sanction that would not be upheld by most courts. The right to vote on matters affecting a condominium association is a fundamental right of a condominium owner and, in the absence of any statutory authority, unless there was language warning owners that one of the possible sanctions for nonpayment was loss of vote, it is unlikely that the sanction would be upheld.

“If you and your condominium are not located in a state that has adopted the most current version of the UCIOA Bill of Rights and your declaration or bylaws do specifically allow the suspension of the right to vote in the event that an owner is delinquent, a court would probably uphold the sanction at least unless and until that particular state adopted the UCIOA Bill of Rights for condominiums created at the time yours was.

“As to the 9% per month interest charge on delinquent accounts, most states have usury laws. In states that do, the maximum interest rate that can be charged is the percentage rate specified in the statute, unless the owner has signed a written agreement agreeing to pay an interest rate in excess of the maximum interest rate applicable in that state. If the declaration, bylaws or rules or regulations, as recorded, specified the 9% monthly rate, a court could conclude that unit owners were charged with knowledge of the rate and it might be upheld. If the board has adopted an interest rate in excess of the usury rate without having the full association vote to levy it and thereafter to publicize it in a recorded declaration, bylaw or regulation, it is very possible that, upon challenge, a court would strike down any interest being charged over and above that state’s usury rate.”