As we all now know, the community association manager licensing program, governed under the Department of Regulatory Agencies (“DORA”) Division of Real Estate is gone; vetoed by Governor Polis at the last minute. The Governor indicated that, among other things, there was no supporting data to demonstrate that regulation of community association managers actually reduced harm to consumers. In fact, the Governor went so far as to say the program was detrimental to associations as all costs associated with the licensure program are borne by the owners in communities and, thus, such owners are financially harmed. Consequently, House Bill 1212 was vetoed and, as of June 30, 2019, manager licensing was no more.
Despite the fact the manager licensing bill was vetoed, and despite the fact the manager licensing program was previously governed by the DORA Division of Real Estate, this veto did not, and does not, impact the annual DORA Division of Real Estate association registration requirement.
Per the DORA Division of Real Estate, all associations in Colorado, both pre and post-Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”) must register with the DORA Division of Real Estate on an annual basis. Registration includes the following information:
(1) name of the association;
(2) address of the association;
(3) county in which the association is located;
(4) phone number of the association;
(5) Colorado Secretary of State identification number;
(6) number of units in the community;
(7) type of association (i.e. single family, townhome, or condominium);
(8) DORA Division of Real Estate registration number;
(9) date of the initial registration of the association;
(10) date the current registration expires;
(11) status of the registration (i.e. active or inactive);
(12) designated agent;
(13) designated agent’s address; and
(14) name of the management company, if any.
Any association, owner, or prospective purchaser may check on the status of an association’s registration by visiting the DORA website at https://apps.colorado.gov/dre/licensing/Lookup/LicenseLookup.aspx.
Associations with annual revenue greater than $5,000 are required to pay a registration fee to the DORA Division of Real Estate in conjunction with the annual registration. The initial registration fee is $22. The renewal fee is $25. Associations with less than $5,000 in annual revenue are still required to register but are not required to pay any type of registration fee.
Any association failing to register, renew, or pay the required fee may be precluded from imposing or enforcing a lien for assessments. This is not a position an association wants to find itself in, should it be required to move forward with a collection action against an owner.
For more information on the DORA Division of Real Estate registration requirements, please contact an Altitude Community Law attorney at 303-432-9999.