During the 2010 legislative session, House Bill 10-1403 (“HB 1403”) was signed into law by Governor Ritter. The purpose of HB 1403 was to enable the Colorado Secretary of State (“SOS”) to reduce the costs of operations through phasing out postcard notifications and permitting corporations, including nonprofit corporations like homeowners’ associations (“HOAs”), to elect to file …

The Senate Committee on Local Government (“Committee”) today considered House Bill 11-1124 (“HB 1124”) which addresses conflicts of interest for individuals serving on the board of their homeowners’ association (“HOA”) and on special district boards. 

The bill was passed unanimously by the Committee with a favorable recommendation to the full Senate.  In addition, the Committee is recommending that the bill be placed on the Senate Consent Calendar. We expect the Senate will approve HB 1124 which currently contains the following provisions:Continue Reading Conflict of Interest Bill Clears Senate Committee on Local Government

For the purpose of obtaining FHA approval of a condominium project, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") has just announced a waiver on some leasing restrictions in condominium projects.  This waiver will be in effect for a period of one year. 

As you know, when a condominium project applies to HUD for approval for FHA-backed loans, one of the requirements is that at least 50% of the units must be owner-occupied. That means an association must be able to control the rental of units in the project. An obvious way that associations handle this is through rental restrictions contained in the governing documents of the association. Continue Reading HUD Relaxes Leasing Restrictions for FHA Approval of Condominium Projects

As noted in our March 1^st blog posting, Representative Libby Szabo introduced House Bill 11-1116 (“HB 1116”) in the Colorado House which would regulate the ability of local governments to require citizens to pay for and utilize residential waste services provided for by the municipality in which they live.

Yesterday an amended version of HB 1116 was considered by the full House which provided that local governments (after the effective date of the new law) that plan to require citizens to pay for and utilize their residential waste services – must first provide the electorate with an opportunity to vote on whether the local government may take such action. Continue Reading HOA Inquiry Stalls Trash Bill on Floor of the Colorado House

Okay – so it has really felt like the 2011 legislative session in Colorado for HOAs has been pretty darn busy. We have battled over the assignment of junior lien rights, engaged in lengthy and sometimes intense negotiations on the superlien, reworked legislation affecting the governance of associations and the session is only half over. However, recent drama in Nevada has put our 2011 legislative session into perspective.

In addition to the federal investigation in Nevada of an alleged conspiracy targeting HOAs that we reported on in our March 7^th blog posting, Senator Michael Schneider has introduced an omnibus bill in the Nevada Legislature he has dubbed “Sex, drugs and money: Why HOAs don’t work.” The bill is a whopping 43 pages long and addresses everything from regulating transfer fees to prohibiting HOAs from using radar guns to regulating the composition of HOA boards.Continue Reading High Drama in Nevada Over HOA Omnibus Bill

The Colorado Division of Real Estate (“Division”) has published a Position Statement on whether common interest communities formed before July 1, 1992 (commonly known as “pre-CCIOA communities”) are required to comply with the new HOA Registration requirements. In the Position Statement, the Division noted that “The interpretation of whether the registration requirement applies to entities not formed under CCIOA has caused significant confusion amongst homeowners’ association registrants.” Continue Reading Position Statement on HOA Registration for Pre-CCIOA Communities Published

As we approach the midpoint in the 2011 Colorado legislative session, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on how homeowner associations (“HOAs”) are present in the mind of many legislators in the Colorado General Assembly and trends we are seeing legislatively. Here are some observations:Continue Reading Homeowner Associations – The Legislative Gift That Keeps on Giving

Representative Libby Szabo has introduced House Bill 11-1116 (“HB 1116”) in the Colorado House of Representatives, which would regulate the ability of local governments to require residents to pay for and utilize residential waste services provided for by these municipalities. Continue Reading To Haul or Not to Haul – That is the Question