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HOAs could be crubed by Legislature
Some Texas legislators seem to think so, given that legislators have filed numerous bills this session to curb homeowner associations, including legislation that would, for example, limit associations’ ability to prohibit solar panels and to foreclose on homes, and require associations abide by the Texas Open Meetings law... On Feb. 15, hundreds of people attended a rally at the state Capitol organized by a nonprofit group, Texas Homeowners for HOA Reform, to ask lawmakers to stop HOAs from foreclosing on homes even if homeowners don’t pay maintenance fees. The group’s website, www.texashoareform.org, has links to dozens of stories about HOA disputes between HOAs and homeowners: such as homeowners flying the American flag on a flagpole, installing burglar bars, placing solar panels on rooftops and keeping their homes despite unpaid HOA dues.
HOAs could be crubed by Legislature
By charles Boisseau
Have homeowners associations gotten too big and powerful?
Some Texas legislators seem to think so, given that legislators have filed numerous bills this session to curb homeowner associations, including legislation that would, for example, limit associations’ ability to prohibit solar panels and to foreclose on homes, and require associations abide by the Texas Open Meetings law.
Last week, Austin lawyers Glenn Weichert and George Basham III gave an overview of the bills filed at the Legislature at the monthly meeting of the Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods (OHAN), the nonprofit group that represents dozens of neighborhoods in Southwest Austin.
Clearly, HOAs have become a hot topic of late. In February, Travis County commissioners approved a resolution in support of state legislation to limit the ability of a homeowners’ association to prohibit the installation of solar panels on a home.
On Feb. 15, hundreds of people attended a rally at the state Capitol organized by a nonprofit group, Texas Homeowners for HOA Reform, to ask lawmakers to stop HOAs from foreclosing on homes even if homeowners don’t pay maintenance fees. The group’s website, www.texashoareform.org, has links to dozens of stories about HOA disputes between HOAs and homeowners: such as homeowners flying the American flag on a flagpole, installing burglar bars, placing solar panels on rooftops and keeping their homes despite unpaid HOA dues.
Weichert, whose firm specializes in representing homeowner and condo associations, said 61 bills have been filed as of March 4 that would impact “common interest†developments such as HOAs.
“There’s a lot of bad press about how bad associations are,†Weichert said. But he argued that surveys show that most members are satisfied with their homeowners’ associations, which he said enforce deed restrictions and protect property values. He spoke of the “unfairness†of the many dues-paying HOA members subsidizing a residential development’s parks, pools and other common areas. Without the ability to foreclose, HOAs would be threatened. “If 30 percent (of HOA members) don’t pay, the 70 percent that do are paying more.â€
While declining to predict the outcome of specific bills, Weichert said given that seven bills address solar panels “you can pretty well get used to seeing solar panels on roofs. Energy savings is a hot issue right now. I think it will pass.â€
Senate Bill 142, which among other things would prohibit HOAs from allowing members to vote using proxies, elicited debate among OHAN members.
Charlie Draper, former president of Travis Country Community Service Organization, an HOA representing about 1,500 homes, said the use of proxies can lead to “voting fraud.†After the meeting, Draper explained that some residents, particularly elderly members, could be manipulated very easily when HOA candidates play on their fears. They can be coaxed to cast their votes by proxy without having all the facts. “It disturbs the whole democratic process,†he said.
But OHAN Board Member Craig Wojtowicz, who represents the Villages of Shady Hollow, said the use of proxies are a practical necessity, since many HOAs would not otherwise gain the required number of votes to operate without use of proxies. Wojtowicz said sometimes only 30 homeowners out of his neighborhood’s 600 homes will attend meetings to vote, despite the HOA requirement that elections receive at least 10 percent representation. Without the use of proxies “how do you carry out the business of the association?†he asked.
“It’s a problem,†Weichert agreed, one faced by many HOAs, which are governed under state corporation law that allows proxies and also require a quorum of members or a percentage of voters to take action.
http://oakhillgazette.com/hoas-could-be-curbed-by-legislature-p2963-73.htm |
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