Yesterday Mainstreet.com reported on a new book that Evan McKenzie has written about the future of HOAs in the United States. Professor McKenzie, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has been studying the political structures of HOAs for years and previously authored Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government

In his recently released follow-up entitled Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government, Professor McKenzie “explores the latest issues and trends in common interest developments and opposing viewpoints as to how they should be managed.” Mainstreet.com reports that “McKenzie’s larger point is that once consumers gain some leverage against homeowner groups, these associations will begin to lose power, and eventually fade away.”

 

There is no doubt that concerns with alleged abuses in associations have led many state legislatures to enact “homeowner bill of rights” type laws. Some states have also adopted regulatory schemes to control the governance and operations of HOAs. Colorado began following this trend several years ago with the passage of “SB 100” which mandates, among other things, that associations adopt and follow Responsible Governance Policies. Since that time, legislation has been enacted each year in Colorado expanding on good governance principles with the HOA Information and Resource Center ultimately being put in place during the 2010 legislative session.

While it’s likely that trends in this type of governmental regulation will continue across the nation, it’s highly unlikely that HOAs will simply go the way of the dodo. After all, municipalities have a great thing going. They require that new developments be constructed in homeowners’ associations – which means they can collect taxes from the residents without being required to provide the traditional infrastructure or services. These responsibilities fall on the HOAs.