Board or management company, Who is responsible

A Management company works from the directions given by the Board.

The board should instruct the management company to disseminate any info it needs to get to its members.

RichardL, it is difficult for me to believe that your management company would not have advised the Board of the required Policies and Procedures (Rules and Regulations)under CCIOA (Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act). SB05-100 became part of CCIOA over 5 years ago! Even if your association is not under CCIOA (pre 1992, etc.) you still need established policies and procedures (P&P) including handling of delinquent accounts and Covenant violations. And these P&P need to be distributed to all owners by the Board.

So who is responsible? Any competent management company would accept the responsibility of providing CCIOA information to the Board, whether their management agreement states this or not. The Board is responsible for hiring a competent management company that is willing to provide ongoing updates to the Board on legislation. The Board is ultimately responsible for distributing information to the owners and for having a knowledgable agent who will suggest what information must be provided to the owners.

"My question is, just who is responsible for acquiring the information and informing the members of the association."

The OP seems to suggest someone should pull together this sort of information and hand it over to the property owners for their use and knowledge.

I don't think the Board or the MC has any obligation to collect and provide that sort of information. The property owners have some role in operation of their property not everything is left up to the Board.

I would have to say that this responsibility would be with your attorney.

I think it's great when summaries of laws are provided in an easy to read format. If States can afford that option, great. However, what happens if the summary is incorrect - who would be at fault?

Tim

"The association shall provide, or cause to be provided, education to owners at no cost on at least an annual basis as to the general operations of the association and the rights and responsibilities of owners, the association, and its executive board under Colorado law. The criteria for compliance with this section shall be determined by the executive board. "

Seems to me this would be satisfied by making a yearly mailing "Re-read your association documents. Now."

Richard,

I believe everyone of us started out not knowing where to look or really understand what we were looking at.

As you know, there are many, many, many, laws that the average person is not aware of until it directly impacts them. This isn't to say the actual law isn't available for the individual to look up and read. It's just the practicality that most individuals have better things to do with their lives until an issue comes up that affects the individual or the individuals family directly enough for them to find the time to research and try to understand the laws surrounding that issue.

Most States have enacted disclosure laws so that most of the information available surrounding an Association is provided to a potential buyer at the time of purchase. However, laws and governing documents change and it's once again left up to the individual to become interested enough to make the time and do some research. The material is usually available if someone takes the time to look. Fortunately, the internet has made the process easier.

The place everyone should start would be the governing documents. All of the governing documents. This would include:

The Declaration of Covenants Conditions and Restrictions
The Articles of Incorporation
The Bylaws
Policy Resolutions (adopted by the Board)
Administrative Resolutions (adopted by the Board).

Then work look at your State laws:

Property Laws
Corporate Laws (if Association is incorporated)
Contract Laws (as this is what your CC&Rs are)
Energy Laws (as they might effect solar panels, generators, etc.)
environmental laws

Don't forget County or City codes:

Local towing ordinances (if your Association has the right to tow)
Building codes

Then there are Federal Laws and Regulations:

HUD/FHA guidelines (as the Association now has to provide info)
Fair Housing Laws
IRS Codes
American Disabilities Act
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Solders Sailors Civil Relief Act
FCC Over The Air Reception Devices (satellite dish law)

Oh, lets not forget various case laws or court opinions that may or may not affect the interpretation of any of the above laws.

Additionally, I am positive that there are many, many more I have forgotten. As you stated, it would be great if Board members took the time to get this information out to the membership. However, you need to remember that Board members are usually just volunteers who, like most of us, have better things to do with their lives. Therefore, it leaves the responsibility to the individual. I would offer the following advise to any individual:

Trust, but verify!

If someone is willing to offer advise or an interpretation, I would recommend that you never take that information on face value. You should always verify, to the best of your ability, what that person is telling you with your own research and, ideally, reading the law yourself. Granted, the individual probably wouldn't intentionally mislead you. However, they are only providing their interpretation of what they read or were told.

Personally, I provide advise based on information contained in the question and my interpretation of the question. I base the advise on my own personal experiences, any research and understanding coupled, hopefully, with some common sense. If the information provided changes or a new document is located or my experience in dealing with a similar issue changes, that advise could easily change.

In a recent discussion on HOAtalk we even discussed how to interpret laws (click the link to go to that thread).

I believe you summed the whole issue up when you stated, I feel like I'm back in school on this. This is how I feel and I believe everyone on this forum feels.

Tim

RichardL7, you have possed the essence and provided the answer to your original question with your statement:

"One would need to know of it’s existence some way or somehow. That in it’s self would lead me to believe that the management company would be the first to address the situation and then report it to the board and at that time the board would instruct the management company to inform the home owners, or at least I would think so at this time."

That is exactly how it works. Competant managers attend classes to receive training and to be updated on changes in state statues and court cases. Good managers provide information to each Board as applicable. Ultimately it is the Board's responsibility, acting on behalf of the Association, to make sure required information plus other desired information is provided to the homeowners.

Tonight is the Board meeting, and with all the assistance given it will be a big help me. As always discretion and understanding will be part of the tools used by me. Just want to help rebuild the HOA to it’s former self and to the status as when first started. I think it can be done as long as we support each other and work together.
Thank you one and all.
Richard.