Budget-driven increases
Why an assessment increase can take effect without a single owner voting yes.
In many states, the board adopts next year's budget, and the assessment increase it produces takes effect automatically. Owners cannot vote to approve an increase in advance; they can only vote to reject the adopted budget at a scheduled meeting. If that rejection vote fails or never happens, the higher assessment stands, whether or not owners attend.
The budget comes first, the increase follows
An assessment is not a number the board picks. It is legally defined as each owner's share of a budget the association has already adopted. The board sets the budget, and the assessment is simply that budget divided across the units. Nothing about the size of the increase is decided separately from the budget itself.
Regular assessments have to be set at least once a year, and each time, they have to be tied to a budget the board formally adopts for that year. A board cannot quietly raise dues mid-year without a new budget behind the number. Whether your board must also send a specific notice period before the new amount is due depends on your state and your declaration. See Assessment notices.
How owners can stop it: ratification
In states built on the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act framework, the check on a board's budget is not an approval vote. It is the reverse: the budget takes effect unless owners vote it down.
"Unless at that meeting a majority of all unit owners or any larger vote specified in the declaration reject the budget, the budget is ratified, whether or not a quorum is present."
Source: Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 27A, §3-103, State of Vermont
Two details trip up boards and owners alike. First, the vote needed to defeat the budget is a majority of all unit owners, not a majority of whoever shows up. A handful of owners at a sparsely attended meeting cannot reject an increase even if every one of them votes no. Second, no quorum is required for the ratification meeting to count. The budget stands unless enough owners actively organize to vote it down.
What varies by state
Not every state uses this negative-option model. Some states instead limit how far a board can raise assessments on its own authority, or require the vote to happen in an open, member-noticed meeting rather than requiring member approval at all. Which approach applies to your association depends on your state statute and your declaration, read together. See Assessment caps and Raising assessments for how those different mechanisms work.
A board member may also claim that Robert's Rules sets the vote threshold for an increase. It does not. Robert's Rules applies only where it does not conflict with the association's own bylaws; the actual threshold, if any, comes from the declaration, bylaws, or state statute.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
The board adopts next year's budget with a 15% dues increase. No meeting is held to vote on rejecting it before the increase takes effect. What happens?
At a budget rejection meeting, 30 of this association's 100 owners attend and unanimously vote to reject the increase. What is the result?
A board member insists Robert's Rules of Order sets the vote threshold for approving next year's assessment increase. Is that correct?
Sources
- Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 27A (Vermont Common Interest Ownership Act), State of Vermont
- West Virginia Code, Chapter 36B (West Virginia Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act), West Virginia Legislature
- How to Adopt Robert's Rules of Order, robertsrules.com
Assessments
Want to know how far your board can raise dues on its own, without any vote at all? Read Assessment caps next.
Whether your state uses this negative-option ratification model at all, what vote threshold your declaration sets, and whether any notice period applies before the ratification meeting all vary by state and by your governing documents.