Massachusetts General Laws ch. 183B sec. 20 – Powers of association
Section 20. (a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) and the time-share instrument, the association, even if unincorporated, may:
Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 183B sec. 20
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
- Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
(1) adopt and amend by-laws, rules, and regulations;
(2) adopt and amend budgets for revenues, expenditures, and reserves and collect assessments for time-share expenses from time-share owners;
(3) hire and discharge managing agents and other agents, employees, and independent contractors;
(4) institute, defend, or intervene in litigation or administrative proceedings in its own name on behalf of itself or two or more time-share owners on matters affecting the time-share property or time-shares;
(5) make contracts and incur liabilities;
(6) Provide for and regulate the use, maintenance, repair, replacement, and modification of the time-share property;
(7) cause additional improvements to be made to the time-share property;
(8)(i) impose charges for late payment of assessments; (ii) after notice and an opportunity to be heard, levy reasonable fines for violations of the time-share instrument, by-laws, or rules and regulations of the association; and (iii) assess reasonable attorney’s fees and collection agency fees incurred by the association in collection of such assessments and fines and the institution of forfeiture proceedings.
(9) impose reasonable charges for the preparation of resale certificates required by section forty-two or statements of unpaid assessments;
(10) exercise any other powers conferred by the time-share instrument or by-laws;
(11) impose and receive payments, fees, or charges for the use, rental, or operation of the time-share property, and for services provided to time-share owners;
(12) acquire, hold, encumber, and convey in its own name any right, title, or interest to real or personal property;
(13) assign its right to future income, including the right to receive time-share expense assessments, but only to the extent the time-share instrument expressly so provides;
(14) provide for the indemnification of its directors and officers and maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance; provided, however, that no indemnification shall be provided for any person with respect to any matter as to which he shall have been adjudicated in any proceeding not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his action was in the best interests of the time-share property;
(15) exercise all other powers that may be exercised by legal entities of the same type as the association; and
(16) exercise any other powers necessary and proper for the governance and operation of the association.
(b) The time-share instrument may not impose limitations on the power of the association to deal with the developer which are more restrictive than the limitations imposed on the power of the association to deal with other persons.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in the time-share instrument, the manager, to the extent permitted by the management contract, may exercise the powers specified in clauses (1) to (11), inclusive, of subsection (a).
(d) If the time-share property is part of a project, this section and section twenty-one shall not confer any powers on the managing entity, the developer, or the time-share owners with respect to any portion of the project other than the time-share property.