The Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) released its 2012 annual report detailing the past years activity regarding homeowners associations. The Report indicates that the Homeowners Association Information Office received 2,873 inquires in 2012 (a 5.9% decrease from 2011). Most of the inquiries pertained to the following areas:
- The general operation of the an HOA;
- Board of director responsibilities;
- Enforcement capabilities of an HOA;
- Declarant issues such as disclosure documents, following CC&R’s and termination of control;
- Maintenance and upkeep of the community;
- Disclosure and the production of HOA records to owners;
- Manager/management company and vendor concerns; and
- The HOA registration process.
Of the 2,873 inquiries received, 576 unique complaints from 309 different homeowners were filed in 2012 (a 20% increase from 2011). Of the complaints received, the majority were directed towards homeowner associations in general and boards of directors but 27% of complaints specifically mentioned manages as either a cause or responsible party.
The five largest areas of complaints related to associations were:
- Not following governing documents with 63 complaints or 10.94% of all complaints;
- Not performing maintenance with 58 complaints or 10.07% of the complaints;
- General allegations (mismanagement, transparency) with 49 complaints or 8.51% of all complaints;
- Communication with homeowners with 46 complaints or 7.99 % of all complaints.
- Failure to produce records with 46 complaints or 7.99 % of all complaints.
Given this information, we can expect to see the passage of HB-1134 giving the HOA Information and Resource Center more power.