CMCA MCQ 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A homeowner files a request for a reasonable accommodation to keep an emotional support animal in a no-pets community. The association must:
- Deny it because the no-pets rule applies equally to all
- Grant it automatically without any verification
- Engage in an interactive process and evaluate the request individually (Correct answer)
- Refer the owner to the local housing authority for a ruling
Correct answer: Engage in an interactive process and evaluate the request individually
The Fair Housing Act requires associations to engage in an interactive process to evaluate reasonable accommodation requests on a case-by-case basis.
Question 2: The 'business judgment rule' protects board members when they:
- Act with undisclosed conflicts of interest
- Make decisions in good faith and with reasonable care (Correct answer)
- Override provisions in the declaration unilaterally
- Approve expenditures without competitive bids
Correct answer: Make decisions in good faith and with reasonable care
The business judgment rule shields board members from personal liability when decisions are made in good faith, with due care, and in the association's best interest.
Question 3: An association wants to amend its declaration of covenants. What approval threshold is typically required?
- A simple majority of the board
- A supermajority of the membership, often 67% or 75% (Correct answer)
- A unanimous vote of all owners
- Approval by the local municipality
Correct answer: A supermajority of the membership, often 67% or 75%
Amending the declaration typically requires a supermajority vote of the membership because it is the foundational governing document.
Question 4: Which report provides a snapshot of the association's financial position — assets, liabilities, and equity — at a specific point in time?
- Income statement
- Cash flow statement
- Balance sheet (Correct answer)
- Budget variance report
Correct answer: Balance sheet
The balance sheet (statement of financial position) shows assets, liabilities, and fund equity at a single date, reflecting the association's net worth.
Question 5: A quorum fails to appear at an annual meeting. The correct procedure under most bylaws is to:
- Proceed with all scheduled votes anyway
- Adjourn the meeting to a later date (Correct answer)
- Allow proxy votes to substitute for physical quorum
- Cancel the meeting for the year
Correct answer: Adjourn the meeting to a later date
Without a quorum, most bylaws require the meeting to be adjourned to a future date when a quorum can be achieved.
Question 6: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), community associations that operate as places of public accommodation must:
- Provide accessible parking for all residents
- Remove architectural barriers where readily achievable (Correct answer)
- Retrofit every unit for wheelchair access
- File annual ADA compliance reports with HUD
Correct answer: Remove architectural barriers where readily achievable
Places of public accommodation must remove architectural barriers when doing so is readily achievable — feasible without much difficulty or expense.
Question 7: An owner is renting their unit in violation of the association's rental restriction. The most effective enforcement escalation path is:
- Contact the tenant directly and demand they leave
- Issue a fine, then place a lien if unpaid, and seek injunctive relief (Correct answer)
- Report the owner to the IRS for unreported income
- Terminate the owner's voting rights permanently
Correct answer: Issue a fine, then place a lien if unpaid, and seek injunctive relief
Enforcement typically escalates from notice to fine to lien, and ultimately to court-ordered injunctive relief to compel compliance.
CMCA MCQ 4
A homeowner files a request for a reasonable accommodation to keep an emotional support animal in a no-pets community.
The association must: