Question: When a board adopts a motion or resolution, is a subsequent board bound by the vote if it does not agree? Can a subsequent board change or rescind a policy adopted by a previous board? (G.S. via e-mail)
Answer: Though directors may come and go, board policies, resolutions, or votes, if properly adopted, stay in place unless and until a subsequent board (or even the same board) votes to amend or rescind the resolution.
For example, if a current board adopted a rule regarding the procedure to inspect official records, all future boards would be required to abide by those rules until action was taken at a duly noticed meeting to amend or rescind the rule. For example, if a rule adopted by board resolution allows for an owner to submit a records request by e-mail, a future board could not ignore such a request (even though not required by law) unless and until the rule was amended.
My answer assumes the board actually had authority to take the action in the first place. For example, I am often asked to review board-adopted rules that regulate what can and cannot be done within a unit or on a privately-owned parcel. Rulemaking authority is often limited to common area issues or the common elements (as to condominium associations). In that example, even if adopted at a properly noticed board meeting, a subsequent board would not be required to recognize the previous board’s action, since it exceeded the board’s legal authority and is “void ab initio.”
Originally posted on Florida Condo HOA Law Blog