The Colorado Division of Real Estate has just published the 2012 Annual Report of the HOA Information and Resource Center. While the number of complaints received by the HOA Information Office in 2012 is higher than the 478 complaints received during 2011, for the 8,347 HOAs which registered in 2012 representing 853,542 units – the office received “576 complaints from 309 different homeowners and residents.” 

Here are some interesting facts from the 2012 Annual Report:

 

● “The majority of the intake calls were from homeowners and residents seeking information and laws relevant to their particular problem or situation, or a better understanding of HOA rules and regulations. Some of these inquiries received by the Office resulted in complaints being filed.”

● “The majority of the 576 complaints received pertained to following governing documents, performing maintenance, general allegations of mismanagement and transparency, homeowner communications, production of HOA records, and accounting issues.”

● “Complaints that specifically mentioned managers as either a cause or responsible party accounted for 27% of all those received.”

● “Although some of the complaints singled out managers as harassing or otherwise personally instigating problems for the complainant, the majority were tied to the role of the manager in the operational aspects of the HOA, such as maintenance, producing records and properly carrying out their managerial duties.”

 

Here are a few of the categories which received the highest percentage of complaints:

 

Not Following Governing Documents – 10.94%

Not Performing Maintenance – 10.07%

General Allegations (Mismanagement, Transparency) – 8.51%

Communication with Homeowners – 7.99%

Failure to Produce Records – 7.99%

 

In terms of categories of complaints focused upon managers, here are the categories which received the highest number of complaints:

 

Not Performing Maintenance – 15.69%

Failure to Produce Records – 13.73%

General Allegations (Mismanagement, Transparency) – 11.76%

Not Following Governing Documents – 11.11%

 

The Report noted that the 2013 Objectives and Goals of the HOA Information Office and Resource Center are as follows:

 

● Expand community outreach throughout the State;

● Utilize media and non-profit resources for the dissemination of HOA information;

● Develop more educational information for HOA owners, managers, and developers;

● Provide community presentations, forums, and workshops on HOA issues;

● Offer HOA educational classes for consumers and industry professionals;

● Have a greater Office website presence with practical HOA information and materials, expanding FAQ’s, and providing useful resource links for additional assistance and referrals;

● Streamline the HOA registration system in order to collect relevant HOA data; and

● Empower the consumer with knowledge concerning their rights and responsibilities in an HOA.

 

To fully digest the information provided and the direction of the HOA Information Office and Resource Center for 2013, I urge you to read the full 2012 Annual Report