The Term “Governing Documents” Means Much More Than “CC&RS”

Condominium associations and other common interest developments have several different documents that relate to the governing of the association. Those documents are collectively referred to as the association’s “governing documents.” Unfortunately, it is commonplace for owners, some of which are members of an association’s board of directors, to not understand the scope of their association’s governing documents and how they relate to each other, or what’s commonly referred to as the “hierarchy” of the governing documents. Frequently, owners do not even have copies of their association’s governing documents.

Condominium associations and other common interest developments will have the following documents as part of their governing documents:

• Articles of Incorporation
• Bylaws
• CC&Rs / Declaration
• Condominium Plan (for condominiums)
• Rules
• Policies

Generally, an association’s governing documents are subordinate to state statutes, but that is not always the case. State statutes can be worded in a manner that makes a statute permissive, which means that an association’s governing documents can provide otherwise. They can also be worded in a manner that overrides conflicting provisions in an association’s governing documents. A statute that overrides language in governing documents will use words such as “notwithstanding any provision of the governing documents to the contrary,” or use of the word “shall” (i.e. the association “shall” hold open meetings). State statutes can also defer to an association’s governing documents by stating something like “unless the governing documents otherwise provide,” which means that the language in the governing documents can control the subject of the statute.

Typically, a state’s statutes will specify the hierarchy of an association’s governing documents as follows: CC&Rs (sometimes referred to as the “Declaration”) / Condominium Plan —- Articles of Incorporation —- Bylaws —- Rules.  The following describes the basic purpose of each of these governing documents:

CC&Rs / Declaration.

The terms “CC&Rs” and “Declaration” are used interchangeably for the more complete “Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions.” The CC&Rs will contain restrictions on the use or enjoyment of property and will describe the rights and obligations of the association’s members such as: