Chapter 6 - § 6.14 • MASTER ASSOCIATIONS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 6.14 • MASTER ASSOCIATIONS

In large communities, it is common for there to be a master or umbrella association that provides some or all of the management services or decision-making functions for smaller projects.⁴⁴⁴ The authority to make a common interest community subject to a master association is one of the "special declarant rights" identified in the CCIOA.⁴⁴⁵

A "master association" is defined as "an organization that is authorized to exercise some or all of the powers of one or more associations on behalf of one or more common interest communities or for the benefit of the unit owners of one or more common interest communities."⁴⁴⁶ Under the CCIOA, if the declaration provides that any of the powers of an association⁴⁴⁷ are to be exercised by, or may be delegated to, a master association, all provisions of the Act applicable to unit owners' associations apply to the master association, except as modified by the Act.⁴⁴⁸ Provisions for a master association may be set out in the original declaration or added by an amendment to the declarations of each of the common interest communities in which association powers are to be exercised by, or may be delegated to, a master association.⁴⁴⁹

Unless it is acting in the capacity of an association,⁴⁵⁰ a master association may only exercise the powers to adopt and amend budgets and collect assessments for common expenses⁴⁵¹ to the extent those powers are expressly permitted to be exercised by a master association in the declarations of common interest communities that are part of the master association or expressly described in the delegations of power from those common interest communities to the master association.⁴⁵²

In the conduct of the affairs of a master association, the rights and responsibilities of unit owners regarding the powers and duties of the governing board,⁴⁵³ meetings of the association and governing board,⁴⁵⁴ quorums,⁴⁵⁵ voting and proxies,⁴⁵⁶ and conveyance or encumbrance of common elements⁴⁵⁷ only apply to those persons who elect the board of the master association, regardless of whether they are otherwise unit owners within the meaning of the CCIOA.⁴⁵⁸

Even if a master association is also a "unit owner's association,"⁴⁵⁹ the articles of incorporation and declaration of each common interest community whose powers are assigned by the declaration or delegated to the master association must provide that the master association governing board will be elected, after any period of declarant control, in one of four ways:

1) All unit owners of

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