Yesterday, House Bill 14-1143 (“HB 1143”) was introduced to address how storage condominium units are taxed. According to the legislation, residential real property is taxed at 7.96% while commercial property is tax at 29%. As a result, the bill makes it possible to classify storage condominium units which are utilized for residential purposes as “residential improvements” clearing the…

House Bill 14-1125 (“HB 1125”) was introduced today by Representative Diane Mitsch Bush (D-Steamboat Springs) to fix an inadvertent oversight in the association records law which was overhauled during the 2012 legislative session and went into effect on January 1, 2013. Currently, the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”) prohibits associations from publishing the telephone numbers and email addresses of members. Obviously, this limits the information associations may publish in membership directories. 

HB 1125 permits an association to publish email addresses and telephone numbers of members and residents of the association, if those members or residents first provide written consent to their association to publish this information. Owners and residents may withdraw this written consent, but such withdrawal of consent does not require their association to go back and “change, retrieve or destroy” previously published telephone numbers or email addresses.Continue Reading Bill Introduced to Fix Oversight in CCIOA Records Provision

As required by House Bill 1134, which passed during the 2013 legislative session and was signed into law by Governor Hickenlooper, the Colorado Division of Real Estate has just published the study mandated by the bill entitled "2013 Study of Comparable HOA Information and Resource Centers." 

As reported in CLAC’s update on the 2014 legislative session…

The 2014 legislative session kicked off today in Colorado as the Sixty-Ninth General Assembly convened this morning and is scheduled to adjourn on May 7th. Since this is an election year, there is no question that many bills will be introduced from both sides of the aisle to position legislators for re-election. However, for our purposes, these postings will focus solely upon HOA related bills during the session.

As Chair of CAI’s Colorado Legislative Action Committee (“CLAC”), my postings with important updates will be available for review on the following websites: CAI National, the Southern Colorado Chapter of CAI, the Rocky Mountain Chapter of CAI and on Colorado HOA Law. If the postings don’t show up simultaneously on these websites, please be patient since many folks will be involved in posting updates on their respective websites. Also, feel free to repost these updates or pass them along to folks who may find them of interest.

 

There has been a whole lot of speculation on what we can anticipate during the 2014 legislative session. However, CLAC is going to stick to the facts as we know them and based upon the information we currently have, here is what you need to know:Continue Reading Ready, Get Set, Go!

Happy New Year from all of us at Winzenburg, Leff, Purvis & Payne! As we begin 2014, I thought I would continue with my annual tradition of providing HOA boards with New Year resolutions for consideration. This year, please consider the following resolutions with a focus on building community and putting a halt to disputes before they…

Has your association increased, or even decreased, its annual assessment fees for 2014? If so, it is important that the association follow its governing documents when providing notice of the change to all owners.   In addition to providing owners with proper notice of any change, the association should also notify its attorney. This will help to ensure that any accounts and/or payment plans that are with the attorney for collection are properly noted, and any increase is accurately accounted for and collected.  Continue Reading 2014 Annual Assessments

Covenant enforcement usually ramps up in our office in the spring, but we often receive phone calls from managers and Board members regarding holiday displays.  From elaborate constructions of holiday cheer to somewhat less friendly displays, we see just about everything.  A few reminders when considering whether the displays in your neighborhood are enforcement-worthy:

Do…

As Stephane Dupont previously blogged, effective January 1, 2014, Associations are required to have a new collection policy in place that complies with the HOA Debt Collection Bill (HB 1276).  The new law requires collection policies to set forth certain procedures an Association must follow when collecting on a delinquent account.Continue Reading Time Is Running Out!

Yet another homeowners association has found itself in hot water for potential violations of federal fair housing laws.  East of San Francisco, the Tennis Villas at Blackhawk association barred children from trick-or-treating at Halloween.  While the community is gated and "upscale," an upscale community does not have the right to adopt policies that have a…

The HOA Information and Resource Center commonly shares information on federal and state laws regulating HOAs in Colorado.  However, the Office just disseminated important information to registered HOAs relating to the recent discovery of the emerald ash borer insect in Colorado.  Since ash trees are extremely common in Colorado, HOAs are encouraged to read this communication from the Colorado Department…