Waiving assessments
Why "I don't use it" and "let's skip reserves this year" don't work the way owners think.
An owner cannot escape an assessment by refusing to use the amenities it funds, or by abandoning the unit; the statutes say neither one exempts them from liability. Owners also cannot vote to waive reserve funding just to keep dues low: the industry's leading trade association takes an official position against letting owners opt out of reserve requirements.
Not using it doesn't excuse paying for it
An owner who never sets foot in the clubhouse still owes their share of the assessment that maintains it. The obligation runs from the declaration the owner took title subject to, not from how much they personally use the common elements. A statute written for common interest communities says this directly.
"A unit owner is not exempt from liability for payment of common expenses by a waiver of the use or enjoyment of any of the common elements or by abandonment of the unit."
Source: Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 27A, §3-116, State of Vermont
Notice this covers two separate excuses at once: declining to use a common element, and abandoning the unit altogether. Neither one works.
Owners can't vote to skip reserve funding either
Sometimes the push to waive isn't one owner, it's the whole membership, voting to skip this year's reserve contribution to keep dues flat. The Community Associations Institute (CAI), the trade body representing association boards and managers, has an explicit policy position on this.
"CAI opposes legislation that would allow owners to waive or opt out of reserve funding requirements."
Source: Reserve Study and Funding, Community Associations Institute
This is CAI's advocacy position, not a law on the books in every state; check whether your state has enacted a similar restriction on reserve waivers.
What a board can actually waive on its own
Two different things are at stake, and they're governed differently. Mandatory statutory protections, things like lien mechanics, notice periods, and interest caps, generally cannot be waived downward, even by a unanimous board vote. Exactly which provisions count as mandatory, and which a declaration can override, differs by state; confirm this against your own statute.
Whether a board can forgive, reduce, or waive a specific owner's assessment, for hardship, for example, is not addressed by any of the statutes behind this lesson. That authority, if it exists at all, comes from your declaration and bylaws, not from a general default rule. Read your governing documents, or ask your association's attorney, before assuming a board has that power.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A homeowner tells the board, "I never use the clubhouse, so waive my share of the assessment that pays for it." What actually happens?
At the annual meeting, owners propose voting to skip this year's reserve contribution to keep dues flat. What is CAI's stated policy position on this?
An owner moves out and stops using their unit for six months before selling it. Does abandoning the unit end their assessment liability for that period?
Sources
- Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 27A, §3-116, State of Vermont
- Reserve Study and Funding, Community Associations Institute
Assessments
Next: see why assessments aren't optional in the first place, and how the lien behind them actually works.
Whether a board can waive or forgive an individual owner's assessment, and which statutory protections a declaration can or can't override, varies by state and by your own governing documents.