UNRECORDED DEEDS

UNRECORDED DEEDS

QUESTION: An owner of record sent me an unrecorded deed showing that he put his wife on title. Does an unrecorded deed make his wife a member?

ANSWER: Not necessarily since ownership may not have transferred. At this point, it is impossible for the board to know whether the wife is a member or not.

Membership Defined. As provided for in Civil Code §4160, membership is tied to ownership of a separate interest in a common interest development, e.g., a condominium or lot. Transfer of real property requires the following:

1. It must be in writing;
2. Parties must be properly identified;
3. Parties must be competent to convey and receive property;
4. The property must be sufficiently described to distinguish it from other real property;
5. There must be granting language;
6. The deed must be signed by the conveying party; and
7. It must be delivered and accepted.

Determination. "Delivery" means more than giving someone physical possession of a deed. In the situation you described, the husband must have the intention to immediately pass title to his wife. For all you know, the unrecorded deed is nothing more than a ruse by the husband to get his wife on the board. There are two ways to determine if a valid transfer occurred: (i) a ruling by a court or (ii) a recorded deed. Obviously, a recorded deed is the only practical option for associations to know whether ownership actually transferred.

RECOMMENDATION: In my experience, the only time someone waives around an unrecorded deed is to put an unqualified person on the board to cause problems for the association. Whenever proof of membership is at issue, associations should require a recorded deed. 

INSPECTING GARBAGE

QUESTION: Our condos have an ongoing problem with residents not placing their garbage bags properly into the bins. This creates a mess when workers move the bins because bags break and spread garbage around. Can the board inspect the bag's contents for the purpose of identifying who is causing the problem?

ANSWER: Yes you can. People have no reasonable expectation of privacy when they put their trash in a public area. (California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988).) Trash collectors, the homeless, neighbors, the police, anyone can go through garbage once an owner puts it in a trash bin. Therefore, a board can go through the trash to identify who is causing the problem.

RECOMMENDATION: Board members or staff digging through trash is unsanitary and unseemly. If you want to catch scofflaws, you should install a camera in the trash area. Don't use hidden cameras. Highly visible cameras help deter bad behavior. Hidden cameras not only offend people, they reveal things you may not want to know.