Federal laws - In addition to state law regulations, the federal government has laws that govern the operation of homeowners' associations, iniums, and other residential properties in the state of Massachusetts.
The state administrative code requires the co-owners' association to maintain a reserve fund which, at a minimum, shall be equal to 10% of the association's current annual budget on a noncumulative basis. The funds shall only be used for major repairs and replacement of common elements.
Achieving a 70% funded reserve is considered a milestone for inium associations, indicating a reasonable level of financial preparedness. It signifies that the association has taken proactive steps to ensure the long-term sustainability of the community and mitigate the risk of financial instability.
The rules found in the Massachusetts inium Act include mandatory provisions that must be included in the bylaws, interests in common areas of the inium, and expenses incurred by the unit owners' association. The provisions also explain the fundamental attributes of a inium.
In Massachusetts, homeowners' associations, also called HOAs, are not governed by a particular law in the way that inium associations are. Generally, iniums are preferred by developers when trying to create housing arrangements with shared common spaces among different unit dwellers.
Homeowners within the community elect a board of directors to oversee the association and enforce the community's CC&Rs (covenants, conditions, and restrictions).
This section provides that all unit owners own an undivided interest in the common areas. The inium form of ownership combines title in specific units with an undivided interest—with other owners—in the common areas.
Reserves are like savings accounts – an accumulation of funds for a future purpose. The source of funding for a reserve might be surpluses from operations, or scheduled transfers that have been planned and budgeted.