Enforceable, not more, HOA Laws Needed

The complaints about Homeowners Associations (HOAs) are not that State's lack HOA laws but that they lack enforceable HOA laws from the home owner's perspective. In Colorado there are numerous, comprehensive, and definitive laws governing HOA laws. The problem is that the authors and sponsors of these Bills left out the most important aspect of law: enforcement. This is like having speeding laws without fines for violations. In many cases this was absolutely deliberate to get support for passage from those legislators whose votes are influenced by well financed political machines such as HOA lawyers and the Community Association Institute (CAI). HOA law thus provides very good guidelines and principles but without an accessible and affordable means for home owners to pursue their rights HOA legislation becomes more ornamental and providing mostly the illusion of protection of homeowner's rights.

Home owners who don't comply with HOA governing documents can be readily fined and even have homes foreclosed upon. Violations by HOA Boards and property managers of State HOA law and HOA governing documents, however, leave home owners in a vulnerable and helpless mode. Home owners' only workable means for enforcing HOA law is our costly, litigious, and time consuming court system that matches the limited funds and time of the home owner against the unlimited financial and professional resources of the HOA. Even the most simple right of a home owner that is violated by an HOA Board such as gaining access to HOA financial records, challenging conflicts of interests or demanding full and accurate documentation on private Board meetings or minutes of home owner meetings requires the home owner to go to court: not hardly a fair or workable means for governing the HOA.

What is needed to make HOA governance and HOA laws effective from both the HOA and home owner's perspective is an out of court binding dispute resolution process. This process in Colorado has been endorsed in a State mandated study on dispute resolution and only awaits legislative sponsors. Implement this system and most HOA Board and property manager complaints related to non-compliance with HOA law will quickly be mitigated. The system will save taxpayer dollars as it takes case load out of the overloaded court system; disputes are paid for by the parties involved in the complaint (not taxpayers); it sets up a fair venue for dispute resolution (one based on facts and merits of a complaint and not based on an ability to pay); lawyers are not required; trained arbiters in HOA law are used ensuring knowledgeable people will conduct and make decisions on complaints; the system is low cost, timely, and provides for a guaranteed decision on any complaint; and no home owner is denied to use the court system if they choose.

So enough with more ineffective and mostly administrative HOA laws. What we need is an enforcement system to make the existing laws enforceable.

Colorado Construction Defects and HOAs: the simple made complicated

The issue of construction defects litigation just shouldn't be this complicated.  The reporting on this issue has focused on civic organizations and the construction industry contending that too many law suits made too easy by HOAs and condominium associations make building affordable housing too difficult and costly.  Then from the HOA lawyers perspective who get their hands into the bank accounts of HOAs to fund costly and in many cases financially devastating law suits argue that HOAs and home owners can't have their hands tied in defending home owners against shoddy construction practices.  The contentious issue behind all this is whether HOA home owners, and this includes condominium complexes with community associations, would be required to vote on whether to use HOA funds prior to the Board pursuing construction defects litigation.  Simple HOA legislative reform in existing HOA law requiring home owner approval prior to using HOA funds in law suits would seem resolve most if not all issues in this controversy.  This would empower home owners in the use of "their funds" and require HOA Boards (and their lawyers) to inform and educate the home owner on the proposed legal action including the cost/benefit and risk in legal action and in the event of an unsuccessful legal action the estimated, if any, resulting special assessment on home owners to pay legal fees. It would surely cut down the number of construction defects cases but at the same time keep in tack the ability for home owners (HOAs) to arbitrate (which is already mandated in many HOA governing) and/or pursue legal action.  Why is the easy made so often so difficult?