A:  The duties and obligations of the association, and, thus, the board of directors, are set forth in the association’s declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions. In a community of single family detached homes, the association’s responsibilities usually revolve around covenant enforcement, architectural control, and maintenance of common area such as open space, roads, and recreational facilities. Sometimes, the association’s responsibility does extend to certain maintenance on lots, such as landscaping. Therefore, depending on your declartion, the association may have some obligation with respect to soil compaction around the foundations of individual homes. You should have the association’s attorney review the governing documents to determine the extent of the association’s obligations. If mailboxes are on individual lots, the association most likely does not have an obligation to address tampering. However, it may have responsibility if the mailboxes are centrally located at a kiosk or on common area.

Townhome and condominium associations typically have greater maintenance responsibility than single family detached communities, especially for such things as grading and landscaping. Every community has different responsibilities based upon its documents. Therefore, every board member should take the time to review the community’s governing documents to understand the association’s responsibilities and be able to communicate those to owners. You should consider having a maintenance chart depicting the division of maintenance responsibility between owners and the association prepared and adopted in order to avoid misunderstandings. As communication is so important in common interest communities, you should also consider periodically including a description of the association’s responsibilities in a letter or newsletter to owners.