Imagine living in a jurisdiction where the HOA or condominium corporation can deny your document requests with impunity. If you live in Colorado, that is exactly what can, and does, happen. State legislation indicates the association can deny providing documents unless there is “proper purpose” for the request.
There is absolutely no way to determine proper purpose, and owners are being forced to hire lawyers in order to get the documents they need. That is totally ridiculous.
Thankfully it looks like HOA regulations in Colorado are going to get a huge overhaul. In 2011 the state started tracking complaints voiced against HOAs – and the information is amazing. Complaints are not focused on pets, parking, and paint – which most people have always assumed. The complaints are about board and associations being closed for review, tightly controlled, and abusive in the use of their power.
From the 2011 Annual Report of the HOA Information and Resource Centre:
An additional and perhaps one of the more troubling complaint types the Office heard was that
the HOA board or manager was harassing, discriminating or retaliating against homeowners.
Many homeowners felt that their boards had singled them out and were arbitrarily fining them
for violations, when they were not in violation; engaging in selective enforcement of covenants;
and precluding them from participating in meetings.
The 2011 Report is a great read – and truly eye opening about the nature of a person’s relationship with their HOA. It’s a well suggested read for anyone involved in condominium and HOA work.
Anyways, it’s always nice to write a blog post about how a group or organization “gets HOAs and Condominiums” and a big, positive, tip of the hat to the Colorado State Legislature in drafting new legislation to address some well needed change.
