How to Remove Members From Home Owners Associations

A homeowners association (HOA) is a type of organization created by a real estate developer or established by a community that imposes rules and regulations concerning the usage and management of the homes and properties within a development. Generally, all residential buyers in the development become members of the HOA as a condition of purchase and have the right to elect and, under limited circumstances, to remove members of the HOA's board of directors. While the specific rules governing the removal process vary depending on the HOA and the applicable state law, the principal steps and considerations are broadly applicable to all organizations of this type.

Draft a petition calling for a special meeting to vote on the removal of a board member or members. Identify the board member or members by name on the face of the petition. Enumerate your reasons for seeking removal.

Circulate your petition among the HOA's members. Explain why you believe the board member should be removed. Have available copies of any documentation that supports your case. Emphasize the feasibility of your removal efforts; in most HOAs, assuming there is a quorum at the special meeting, only a simple majority of homeowner votes is needed to approve the proposed removal.

Collect the requisite number of signatures from HOA members; generally, this threshold for signatures ranges from 5 percent to 50 percent of the association's voting members, depending on the size of the HOA, its rules and the laws of the state in which it is located.

Serve the petition on your HOA's board of directors once you have collected a sufficient amount of signatures. Upon receipt, the board is obligated to hold a special meeting within a set period of days as well as provide prior written notice of the special meeting to all homeowners in the development.

Advise your fellow HOA members to attend the special meeting once its date is set. If any member is unable to attend, advise him to participate via proxy by authorizing another member to vote his interest. Explain that a quorum of a certain percentage of total owners entitled to vote must be present at the meeting, either in person or by absentee ballot, in order to hold an enforceable vote concerning the removal of a director.

Attend the special meeting and vote for removal; if the procedures leading up to the vote were carried out correctly, and the vote supports removal, then the board member will be recalled from his post as director.

Things You Will Need

• Your HOA's by-laws and declaration

• Your state's laws governing removal of directors

• Petition for removal of directors