April 2013

On a 3 to 2 vote, the Senate Local Government Committee just approved an amended version of House Bill 13-1277 (HB 1277).  This bill, which would require the licensure of community association managers and management company executives in Colorado, will now be sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.  We expect the bill to clear the…

As expected, House Bill HB 1134 (HB 1134) has cleared the Senate on a 20 to 15 party line vote.  HB 1134 is the bill that will study the need for expanded regulatory authority for the HOA Information Officer and the HOA Information and Resource Center.  Since the bill was not amended in the Senate, the next stop for the bill will be Governor Hickenlooper’s desk where we expect him to sign HB 1134 into law.Continue Reading HB 1134 Clears Senate on Party Line Vote

An amended version of House Bill 13-1276 (HB 1276), the bill which addresses HOA debt collections, just sailed through the Senate on a unanimous vote of 35 to 0.  Given the sometimes ugly partisan politics which have been present in these final days of the 2013 legislative session – a 35 to 0 vote in the Senate is rather astounding and demonstrates a bipartisan commitment to ensuring that HOAs are dealing fairly with owners who are delinquent in their assessments.  The bill will now go back to the House for concurrence with Senate amendments and then on to the Governor who we expect to sign HB 1276 into law with an effective date of January 1, 2014. 

Here are highlights of HB 1276: Continue Reading HOA Debt Collection Bill Sails Through Senate with Unanimous Approval

 We’ve written many times about the Federal Fair Housing Act and its applicability to community associations. One of the more frequent questions that we have to deal with is residents requesting permission to keep their assistance animals. 

In Colorado and under the Federal Fair Housing Act, it is unlawful to refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services when the accommodation may be necessary to afford a disabled person an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling unit, including public and common areas. This applies as well to enforcement of restrictive covenantsContinue Reading Fair Housing and Assistance Animals

As laws have changed over the past few years and more information has become available online, community association governance has been forced to evolve to new, higher standards. Now more than ever, volunteer board members must understand their role as leaders and decision-makers for their communities, and they must have the tools to communicate effectively with their owners. When it comes to effective communication, we see a good mix of exemplar approaches (many of which were learned from experience) and communities that could benefit from proven strategies. If your community is looking for ways to improve communication, or struggling with a contentious issue and wondering what may help, consider the following options for increasing transparency, educating owners, and fostering community within your association:

Hold regularly scheduled board meetings. If owners do not have access to the business of the association, they may get suspicious of what the board is doing. Unfortunately, all too often, perception is reality for owners. You may meet for months without other owners in attendance, but that does not eliminate the need for meetings that owners can attend if they so choose. Set the time and location of meetings at the beginning of the year and stick to that schedule.

Allow owner access to board members. The community manager often serves as the primary contact person for owners with questions and problems to report. Managers then communicate with the board and take action where appropriate. But the manager should not serve as a substitute for the owner-elected board. Board members must make themselves accessible, typically at board meetings, so that owners can feel more assured that their voices are heard and considered in the board decision-making process. Remember that, under the new records law, owners have a right to obtain board member email addresses, so owner contact with board members is a part of board member service to the community. But remember, too, that all board members must have access to information used to make decisions—so individual board members should avoid secret conversations and promises to owners.Continue Reading Good Governance and Communication Go Hand-in-Hand

On a 3 to 2 vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee just postponed idefinitely (which means the bill is dead for this legislative session) Senate Bill 52 which addressed construction defects in transit-oriented developments.  The bill as introduced, would have created significant unintended costs for homeowner associations when pursuing construction defect claims.  While the bill is dead for…