HB 13-1134, which was recently introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives, proposes some interesting changes to the laws creating the HOA Information & Resource Center. As reported here earlier, the HOA Information & Resource Center was created in 2010 to track complaints related to property owners associations for purposes of reporting those complaints to the Division of Real Estate. Interestingly, there are currently no laws or regulations giving the HOA Information & Resource Center or the Division of Real Estate any enforcement power over property owners associations.
There are two types of changes proposed in this bill—those that are more administrative in nature, and those that are true substantive changes. On the administrative front, this bill attempts to clarify certain things related to the manner in which homeowners associations register annually and how the annual registration fee is calculated. The bill also clarifies that the requirement to register annually applies to common interest communities formed prior to the adoption of the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”).
The substantive changes are more interesting. The bill, if adopted, would require the HOA Information Officer to report any suspected violations of CCIOA or any rules promulgated under CCIOA to the Division of Real Estate. It is not clear from the bill what the Division of Real Estate would do with these reports of suspected violations. Related to this, the bill would allow the HOA Information & Resource Officer to “request certain information from associations.” “Certain information” is not defined. The bill also allows the HOA Information and Resource Officer to “recommend rule changes concerning the filing, investigation and resolution of complaints.” Beyond these generic, yet broad changes, election misconduct is a specific focus of this bill. Under this bill, the HOA Information & Resource Officer may review HOA election procedures, appoint an actual election monitor for board elections under certain circumstances, and may review any election-related disputes that may arise. Further, this bill empowers the HOA Information & Resource Officer to “recommend enforcement actions” when it believes election misconduct has occurred.
In sum, HB 13-1134 appears to be another step toward more regulation of common interest communities in Colorado. While there are currently no laws or regulations giving the HOA Information & Resource Center any enforcement power over property owners associations, this bill is a continuation of the theme that Colorado is moving in that direction.