• When you live in a condominium community, you are personally freed from many property-related issues and decisions. But those issues and decisions don't go away. They become the responsibility of the governing body of your condo's homeowner association. If you ever wondered what that group does, it's everything you don't have to.
  
  

Repair and Maintenance of Common Areas

• Job one on the agenda of a condo association's Board of Directors is to identify, define, plan and prioritize repair and maintenance of the common areas. Exterior walls, roofs, grounds, pools, community rooms and parking area are the usual components. Even if the Board has hired a property management firm to implement many of its responsibilities, it is still the Board that makes the decisions.
  
  

Develop and Adopt Budgets

• Developing and adopting an annual budget goes hand in hand with the Board's maintenance responsibilities. If the funds aren't available to undertake the repair and maintenance work, it simply is not going to get done. Based on existing assessments, the Board must allocate funds between interests to ensure that prioritized work, insurance, common utility costs and property management are fully funded. Following the requirements of the association's CC&Rs (codes, covenants and restrictions) and bylaws, it may also vote to raise assessments to meet its repair and maintenance responsibilities.
  
  

Ensure Reserves

• State law, CC&Rs and bylaws typically dictate that a reserve fund must be established and maintained for emergencies. Lenders may refuse to write mortgages on units in a condo complex if the reserve is not fully funded. It is up to the Board to ensure that the fund is maintained.
  
  

Collect Assessments

• Dues associated with each unit are what fund a condo association's reserve fund and operating budget. To make sure that the reserve is maintained and the budget is funded, the Board must ensure that all unit owners are up to date on their association dues. It has the power to collect dues through various means, often including placing a lien on the unit and taking the unit owner to court.
  
  

Enforce CC&Rs

• Many CC&Rs have regulations that apply to the maintenance and improvement of individual units. Common regulations include design restrictions on additions, storage on decks and balconies and placement and maintenance of garbage and recycling receptacles. The Board enforces these provisions.
  
  

Appoint Committees and Hire Agents

• The Board typically has the authority to delegate some of its duties, such as property management and maintenance, by hiring outside firms or contractors. It may also appoint committees from amongst the association's members to deal with specific issues such as developing guidelines for plants and tree planting in the common areas or updating design-review standards for additions.